Survival
by Amanda Lord
Summary: Four months after Freak Nation: They're still in the siege. They're still in the midst of a stand off. Max is finding out what she needs to know in order to be a leader. Alec is helping. They might just save everyone. But....
1. Part I

Part I

He heard the rustle and he didn't stir, but every muscle in his body tensed. Through his closed eyes he visualized the gun between the mattress and the floor, the one that was always ready in the few hours he found his bed.

He heard the lock close after the intruder and he knew he could relax. The comforting thing about assassins was that they so rarely took the time to lock the doors after themselves. He didn't hear the footfalls but he knew that in eight seconds his door would soundlessly open. He wouldn't hear anything until the sheets on the far side of the bed were lifted enough for a slim body to slip in.

It had become habit.

There were just too many things happening. Four months barricaded away, waiting everyday for their little world to fall apart. Logan was there for her on the video screen, but he was in Joshua's house, he was outside of TC. He wasn't there for the moments where she would rest her head against the doorframe and close her eyes, trying to hold it together. Logan wasn't there when she opened her eyes and needed reassurance. Instead she had found his.

They had learned to be in sync. They had learned to understand a wordless language. The eye contact had led to closer and closer physical space. It wasn't erotic, but it had become needed for both of them, voices in the night to ignore the voices in their heads so that they could sleep.

She needed sleep because on her shoulders rested the weight of ensuring the safety and well being of the swelling population of TC. At last count there were four hundred and twelve in TC. One hundred ninety-seven were X-6 or above, the oldest of them being barely fifteen. Eighty-six were transhuman and the X-4 or below who had survived Manticore and their own DNA, they had been cultivated for harsh weather conditions or menial tasks, most of them bared scant resemblance to human. That left somewhere in the neighborhood of one hundred twenty-nine X-5, with approximately one third of the X-5 females pregnant. That was a high numbers to care for, and to protect. Most of the X-5 had been on away missions, but none of the rest had seen anything of the outside world, never mind contact with people.

Every day was a battle. These numbers translated into people - men, women, and children each one needing food, clothing, medical attention, and something to occupy their days. This is what kept their already short hours of sleep at bay, there was such a need for them to fill everybody else's needs.

He never asked anything of her, which was what she found comforting. He had been a royal pain in her ass from the moment he entered her life, but when things were bad she had found that he could be trusted. She had kept him at arms length or kicked him away at every turn, but now she listened. His voice meant something and that is what he found comforting.

Night after night she slipped under the covers and he reached a hand to pull her near.

It was only in the dark.

"Tell me a story."

It was never physical, except for by proximity. Some nights the discussion was worry, some times it was strategy, some ramblings were of her own childhood, on rare nights it was hope, and a very few nights it was hysterical crying at the hopelessness of the situation. Most nights were his stories. She found herself leading people that she didn't understand completely and she needed to know how they were raised, how they grew up. She had begun to see that to lead them she needed to know what she had missed all those years. She knew she wasn't Manticore enough, and she had to understand them to lead them. She desperately needed to know what they had lived and he was her source.

Some times his reminiscing was whimsical, about how different they were, most of the time it was heart wrenching for him to remember the time behind the gates of Manticore. She never asked him for more than he could give, which is the reason he gave it all to her.

He didn't remember how it had started, exhaustion or booze had made the first weeks a blur, but one night she had come. In the morning she was gone. He had thought that maybe it was a dream, but it had become a reoccurring one.

During the day she would organize and strategize and keep them together. She treated him the same way that she treated Mole. She was Mighty Leader during the day.

But at night she was just her again, not the girl who had kicked his ass on their first meeting, but the one who had held Joshua when Annie died, the one who had cried over Ben, the girl who had been a witness to his encounters at the Berrisford mansion and had never held that against him.

And suddenly he begrudgingly had found respect for her. She had escaped so young, but she was adept at making sure that everyone understood their new lives, while dealing with the solider that would never leave any of them. She had changed, she had become more receptive.

She was the lightning rod for every complaint and none of the compliments. It fell to her ears when people were hungry or needed clothes or bedding and that is where he had found a place. She would sigh and point out their lack of food or amenities or defense. Within hours or at most a few days a team would be "mysteriously" organized and Alec would be "mysteriously" absent and suddenly whatever she needed would appear, hand to hand boxes would be relayed down the sewers from an unknown source.

She never asked questions and of course being her she never said thank you, but he'd always find a nip of scotch or a chocolate bar in his pocket when he left HQ. Their system worked for them. He never had to lie and she never had to admonish him. He couldn't say which was better, the adrenaline rush of the job and getting out of TC or living up to any challenge she could give. Anyone asking would get the "Out of TC" answer, but he had to admit the look on her face when everything suddenly appeared was definitely inspirational.

It made him think that she could ever forgive herself for burning down Manticore. It made him think that perhaps one day she could shrug off the responsibility for what any of them did outside.

Her nightly visits made him think that she finally understood what she was, and maybe she could accept that too.

Tonight as she pulled herself closer she didn't speak.

"So this is a first," He whispered in her ear.

"What?" she muttered, "You mean spending ten seconds in silence. You managed to end that like always."

She felt him both roll his eyes and smile at the same time.

He rolled on to his back away from her and put his hands behind his head. He looked over at her, "You do remember though you're the one crawling into my bed."

She rolled around to face him, "And you would never turn away a warm body."

He looked at her with the moonlight lighting her face softly. He could almost imagine that those lines and dark circles weren't there. He could almost see her again. He did a lot of imagining these days. There were a lot of hours, and only a few things to do.

She watched as he looked at her, studied her and then like a child being caught in the cookie jar he smiled his most charming smile, to try to make her think he wasn't doing anything wrong.

"Of course not I'm a gentleman."

That elicited a very unladylike snort from her, she buried her face in the pillow but he caught a bit of a smile.

It was a good night if they were bantering. It was a great night when she smiled.

But he noticed her body hadn't loosened up. She was still tense, so tonight was going to be serious.

He inhaled and she looked at him with her dark eyes hiding any emotion.

"Out with it. What is wrong tonight? More disciplinary cases?"

There would be some problems, general rumblings and some outright behavior that set transgenics against transgenics. That is also where he found another job that nobody asked him to do, but no one questioning his motives. To him it was a kick, it was like being in the movies. To her it was a relief that someone else was handling punishments. She always got chills and flashbacks of her time at Manticore whenever she had to reprimand anyone. She trusted him, both as a guy who had been on the wrong side of Psy-Ops too many times and as just a guy she could rely on to keep things within bounds, to take care of rumblings in TC. It was a relief to her that though groups were forming there were no factions and moreover that there were no internal killings. They had enough problems without turning on each other.

When it got bad or primal, such as an X-5 who forgot the chain of command or two men fighting over a girl he would bring them to the sewers at the far end of TC, out of the way of the main crowd and the two X-5, never mind gender or rank they would duke it out. Then it would be over with. It was something she didn't really understand, but she had been around them enough to know that sometimes, especially in confined spaces they just had to follow their primal instincts.

She let the silence linger.

He looked at her has she thought and bit her lip.

She shook her head her long hair framing her face and falling over her shoulders.

"I need a favor."

He rolled over to his side to better look at her and he blinked repeatedly. She had used to blackmail or bribe him in the outside world. Here in the commune she had never even bothered to ask. A favor was something that she had never approached him with, it was just done.

But the surprises were still to come.

"Two actually."

She was coming to him and asking. He smiled, he wasn't just going to let this one go.

He nodded, "Okay you get the first one free, but the second one is going to cost you. I'm thinking something naked and sweaty."

She smacked him and sat up.

"Geese woman," Alec said rubbing his arm, "And here I though you gave up working out since we were here."

She sat cross-legged and glared at him, "Sure our lives and the lives of everybody are in danger and all you think of is sex."

He bit his lip and raised an eyebrow, "Like I said you're the one who crawls into my bed night after night."

She shook her head in disgust, "Never mind, I'm leaving. I knew it was useless."

She moved to go and felt a hand on her arm. It wasn't restraining and she could have broken it with no problem, but it was enough to make her stay.

"Okay if I can't give my virtue to the cause give it to me straight. What do I have to give? What do you need stolen this time? It must be big if you aren't going to just point out we're missing something."

She played with the edge of the blanket and refused to look up at him. When she spoke it was well rehearsed and calm.

"There are one hundred twenty-nine X-5 they are dominate. The X-6 and X-7 will follow anything that they say, but we've given them freedom and there are factions forming and things are starting to turn chaotic. We need a way for them to be organized. They understand military command and we need to set up an infrastructure. I don't like it much, but that it what they understand. I don't even pretend to understand, but it has to happen in order for us to survive until we get out of this place. I want to start a chain of command with a head committee and a head Commanding Officer and a Second in Command. Something that will pull together in a ranking system they understand."

Alec nodded approvingly. He had been telling Mole this the other day, which is probably where she got her idea. A good leader knows when to use the information, he wisely chose not to gloat over this development. Instead he took the high road.

"So you need me to back you up to give you some X-5 muscle. Are you giving me some sort of official power. Are we formally making me Second In Command?"

She looked up at him with nothing but honesty in those eyes that couldn't lie.

"No Mole is SIC," she said softly.

He felt a stab of hurt, he was just going to be the lackey, again, or still. He shrugged it off, "So you want me to infiltrate these groups and…"

"I want you to be CO."

He had been trained by the best to stay on his toes, he could switch allegiances like no one's business, he could blend in anywhere, and he could always find the right words. He had been trained to the littlest detail how to expect everything.

Except for in front of her, except for now.

"Umm, isn't that your job."

She shook her head, "I'm an '09-er. As much information and guidance I can give about the real world doesn't change the fact that I went AWOL. That carries a lot of weight with these people. To them I'm as good as a civilian. They can accept me as one of their blood, but not leader. I can be Director but never Commanding Officer."

He was taken aback. She had been listening to the subtle undertones of their conversations. He had never come right out and said anything, but maybe the comments in passing as she walked through TC had sunk in.

He was stunned by her actually caring enough to understand this extended "family" and he was ever more stunned by the fact that she valued him.

But he wasn't really sure about stepping from his place in the shadows.

"And you chose – me. You do remember I'm an assassin. Solo missions, man alone. All that unit togetherness stuff they burned away in lovely vacation weeks in solitary without food or water and who can forget my many wonderful stays in Psy-Ops. I don't really do group activities. "

"No one is asking you to gather everyone up and discuss your feelings or do the chicken dance. What I am asking you is that you get teams started. Get a hierarchy going, and have them all report to you, you are still a man alone, you just get to delegate. They report to you and in turn the committee."

"Let me guess you're the committee," he said flopping back onto his back. He stared up at the ceiling. It had a great watermark that looked an awful lot like the Space Needle. He found it comforting.

She tilted her head to the side, "Mole is SIC, the X series won't follow a transhuman, well not all of them, but the transhumans need a voice. I'm Director and you're CO. The three of us we're command."

She focused all the more on the sheet, tracing patterns with her hands.

He pulled the sheet away from her, "And the second favor?"

"As the CO I need you to be the spokesperson for everyone in TC. There are news crews outside and they need to hear our point of view."

This time his jaw dropped.

"You hate how I speak, you're always saying that I talk too much and I'm not good in front of crowds and I will not be your puppet."

She looked at him and gave him a hint of a smile, "That is why I need you, that is why we all need you. We need someone who everyone likes, who goes and has drinks with the crowd. We need someone to represent us, and not someone who just spits out rhetoric. We need a free thinker."

And then she looked down at the sheet again and gave the little smile she reserved for times when she thought she was being cute.

"Plus you aren't ugly and you'll make a nice figure on the screen."

He was lost with that smile.

"Are you saying I'm cute."

She looked up at him and bit back a smile, "You're not really really ugly."

He looked at her out of the corners of his eyes. He owed her a lot and he couldn't refuse her. Not after all that she was trying to do for all of them. It was just that suddenly he had responsibility. He had managed to shirk that even at Manticore.

He had the feeling that this might just suck.

"Why couldn't you just ask for sex," he muttered pulling an arm over his eyes.

She slid in next to him and curled up to him. Contact kept them grounded.

"No, you're way too easy," she whispered sleepily.

She instantly fell into her three hours of sleep, while he laid awake trying to figure out how to say no. All he could think of though was the confidence that she had her eyes. She believed in him.

"I'm am not even remotely considering this," he muttered to the sleeping figure.

Her mouth turned upwards.

He groaned.

"I hate you," he muttered.

&

Max woke up as always, suddenly and completely.

She rarely woke up in his bed. She never woke up alone.

She woke up and looked around startled. It was still dark outside, but the clock announced that she had been asleep for five hours. She jolted up and heard a crinkle on her chest. She looked down and pinned to her shirt was a note.

After listening for signs of Alec in his apartment and hearing none she gingerly reached for the note on her chest.

_Hey lazy bones,_

_I can't sleep and apparently you need to I'm going to let you sleep in my bed. Don't make a habit of it. You'll ruin my reputation. The only reason I didn't wake you up was because I couldn't. _

_I'll be in HQ, but please try to sleep until dawn. I've set the alarm. Close your eyes and go back to sleep. I promise not to burn TC down in the few hours that you aren't here._

_Alec_

Max smiled and yawned, as always Alec was a contradiction. First he admonished her for sleeping then he insisted that she kept sleeping.

She was still tired. She looked at the clock. Half of her screamed to get up, duty calls. The rest of her looked at the soft bed and the decision was made before she hit the pillow.

She fell asleep.

&

"Okay we're going to put snipers on the towers. See if you can find well-trained people. I want this to be totally invisible to the eyes out there."

Mole looked at Alec and chomped on his cigar, "And who put you in charge?"

Alec grinned at him, "I believe that was you and Max, something about a committee and needing me to speak at a function this afternoon."

Mole nodded and turned to Dix, "You owe me a pack of Cubans."

Dix turned from his screen, "He actually accepted?"

"Looks like he accepted both offers," Mole said, "So you owe me a flame thrower too."

Alec raised an eyebrow, "So everyone knew and everyone placed bets?"

Dix nodded, "There isn't much else to do these days."

"What else is there bets on," Alec asked curiously, feeling out of the loop.

Mole tilted his head, "Don't worry about our little bets, you've got a speech to write and people to organize."

Alec looked at him suspiciously but moved on to matters at hand, "Okay I need who ever is any good at list taking to do a census of sorts. I need to know all specialties and all proclivity to anything. If a kid is good at spelling or has shown any special talent at walking I want to know."

"Yes, sir," Mole said with plenty of sarcasm.

"Now what am I forgetting?" Alec asked running all scenarios though his head. There was so much to do and he was probably going to be dead or arrested by one.

"Me."

Alec turned and looked at a very tired looking Max.

"You managed to sleep past dawn," Alec commented and went back to the plans on the table.

Max dismissed his comment and moved to look at whatever he was going over, "Yes and I'm sure that will make me a nicer person since I got five hours of sleep."

"I wouldn't count on it," Alec muttered under his breath.

Max shot him a look, "So what are we planning a heist?"

"No somehow I've become the voice of the Freak Nation and I have press conference at one."

It was a second, but Mole caught it, as did the very observant transgenics in HQ. They had been noticing for a while now. It was a glance here and glances there and how Max and Alec stood closer these days. It was how they always would enter the office on the same page, they never seemed to have much to say to each other, but if one of them knew something the other did also. No one could figure out how Max knew Alec's life story or how Alec knew exactly what Max needed without words.

The betting was running rampant.

Since there wasn't much else to do, speculation was a nice diversion.

Alec and Max were already deep into conversation about the day's press conference and the list of events.

"You are not using children to manipulate them," Max said angrily.

"Come on Maxie, it is perfect. We show that we're not killers by showing that there are children here."

"Yes they see children who can sneak in places and assassinate them or kick their collective asses. Lets not make them fear the minors."

Mole watched them. He knew he had as much say as either one of them, but for some reason he really got a kick out of watching them bicker. He knew after fifteen minutes they would turn to him for the deciding vote so really it was up to him anyway.

"Oh so it is okay for them to think that I'm a handsome articulate devil who is going to steal their daughters, but it isn't okay to show them that their big bad army is attempting to fight children."

"Please they're just going to think we're holding innocent children hostage, or some crap like that. Why don't you parade out the pregnant women to prove how virile our male population is so they are terrified of our breeding, and you aren't that attractive."

Mole cleared his throat in an attempt not to laugh.

They both looked up at him startled to find that he was still there.

He chomped on his cigar. He had much training for his desert missions back in the war days. He was excellent at strategy.

"How about subtle manipulation," Mole said naming a method that First Wives and Vice Presidents had been using in the white house for years. At their blank faces he prompted Alec, "I know she skipped that course when she went AWOL, but you must have taken it."

Alec looked puzzled, "I think that I was in Psy-Ops that week."

Mole rolled his eyes, "It is simple we get that kid to play the national anthem on his horn, like he used to do every night. Makes us look patriotic, the kid is supposedly cute, it makes us look really good. It will give time to lessen the heckling before Alec starts the speech."

Alec and Max thought a moment looked at each other.

"Okay that works," Max said, "Now what are you going to say?"

Alec shrugged, "I was going to wing it."

Max groaned and they began round two.

Mole looked around for the X-7 who brought around the coffee, he was going to need it. This morning was going be one long game of peacemaker, and he really was not good at that role. On his second thought he decided that he didn't need any coffee. He didn't want to risk anything that would make him more jittery and perhaps shoot one or both of his superior officers.

&

"You look a little green, be careful Mole might start to think you're looking attractive," Max commented. When he didn't respond she began to look concerned, "Are you okay. I thought you were the super solider type, should I be worried that Manticore didn't give you nerves of steel?"

Alec looked at the walk ahead of him and shuddered, "Give me a back door or an alias and I'll do you proud. I am a one on one person. I don't do crowds that are presently looking to tear apart anything remotely transgenic."

Max turned Alec so he was looking at her. She held on to his upper arms and held him still, looking into her eyes, just like he had done every time she felt like cracking up. He felt air enter his lungs and suddenly the calm was just there.

His hand reached up and touched her cheek.

"Why am I doing this?" he asked softly.

"I have no idea," she said biting her lip.

"Why do you want me to do this," he said almost inaudibly.

Max looked down and he thought that she wasn't going to answer, but she looked up at him.

"Because every night you tell me what I am, you tell me what we need to do. You need to tell them that."

He looked at the daylight at the far end of their darkened corridor. She never admitted anything while the light was out. He looked at her. Her long hair blew in the breeze and she stood before him petite soldier.

"Remember the good days Maxie," he said lightly.

Max looked at him skeptically, "When was that, when it was only White and he was only after me? When we spent those lovely evenings lasering off our barcodes? When we were fighting over baseballs? When you were close personal friends with Steelheads? When I helped you escape from the police station? When we were helping out mermaids?"

"Yes Maxie, I fondly remember the world's worst lap dance. I remember pool at Crash, daring heists, saving innocent children, beer at Crash, Normal accepting all your medical emergencies, working and making no money, Logan's prepulse scotch, pop music, cage fighting…"

Max bit back a smile.

Alec caught it and smiled wirily, "I know those days we thought we were in a certain rung of hell, but for nine months I got to do whatever I wanted. For the last four months I got to run around the city and do whatever I wanted."

He looked towards the light.

"I think that I'm going to look back at those god awful miserable days and miss them."

Alec sighed and straightened up he closed his eyes. He opened them and he looked at her tall and serious.

Max nodded and moved before she thought. She gave him a kiss on the cheek. It was unremarkable, but they were transgenic born and Manticore raised. He didn't like to be touched, because touch was so often cruel, but her touch was different.

He didn't dwell.

"For luck," she whispered.

He touched her cheek again and walked away.

Halfway to the exit she felt inclined to yell, "Don't fuck up."

He turned and gave her that devil may care Alec special smile.

"Maxie, I'm hurt. Have I ever let you down?"

&

Original Cindy had attempted to teach Max the art of nail maintenance, but as Max waited for the press conference to start she forgot all the rules. By the time that Bugler had finished the national anthem she had lost all of the white around her nails and quite a bit of the nail bed too.

Alec stood at attention during the anthem, never moving an inch. The camera was focused on Bugler, but all she could see was Alec. He made an impression. He was tall and straight, stoic and damned good looking. Manticore knew how to do their job.

Dix had set up cameras to watch the crowd and she watched their reaction. The protesters were behaving and the military was standing at ready, but both groups seemed to be touched by the patriotic act, they seemed to see some human in the creatures they considered monsters.

Max was nervous, but Alec looked perfectly calm despite his past efforts otherwise.

When the song died out and there was the appropriate moment of silence Alec walked to the front of the "stage", which consisted of a slightly raised platform before the barricade. He stood confident even though he knew that a bullet through the crowd could reach him before the sharp shooters could fire.

Max kicked herself for not putting a mic in his ear. He had refused saying that this was his job. He wasn't going to sit there and just let her speak the words that he was supposed to say.

Behind Alec were Mara and Hal, two X-5 who Alec vouched for as the best bodyguards in the place. Max had been skeptical of the skinny blonde woman, but her worry had vanished when she saw the little woman throw two hundred pounds five hundred yards with no problem. Conversely Hal, who was a hulking mass of a man was actually one of the most observant and quick to act people in TC. Manticore was zany like that they like to keep you guessing.

Alec stood before the crowd, the reporters were yelling questions and the protesters were jeering at him. Alex stood tall and serious and raised his hands for the voices to stop. About a quarter of them did.

&

"Hello," His voice rang out they had miced him to be heard over everything, "I'm Alec McDowell and I'm the Commanding Officer of…"

&

Max watched and gripped the edge of the chair as suddenly the crowd rang out with questions and dissent.

&

Logan watched from Joshua's house and blinked. He could understand that Max had put Alec in front of the crow, he was charismatic, but he didn't understand Alec ranking himself as CO. Logan thought that was Max's job.

&

The crowd in front of TC was ready with questions before Alec could even speak.

"Have you ever killed anyone?"

"You're a child and they put you in charge."

"See they take our names and next our daughters."

"I thought you were numbered, what is with the names."

"Are you planning on killing anyone?"

"Can you do any tricks?"

"What do you want?"

Alec closed his eyes briefly.

"My name is Alec McDowell and I am the Commanding Officer of the Transgenic population," his voice rang out over the crowd drowning their questions, "I'm here to speak on behalf of everyone barricaded in Terminal City. Some of what you have heard is true. We were created through a military operation called Manticore. We were raised in a government facility and trained from birth in military procedures and protocol. However some of what you heard is wrong. We are not monsters, even though some of us look different. We are not here because we want to take over anything. We are hiding in Terminal City because you have given us no choice. When were outside of the walls my people, my family were being hunted and lynched by you. "

Alec's jaw tightened as the crowd yelled louder at him.

&

Max could feel him thinking about Biggs.

"Hold it together Alec," she willed at the screen.

&

The vein in Alec's jaw was jumping, but he kept to the script.

"We have walked beside you, worked besides you, lived besides you for nine months without you knowing it, but the crime rate has not risen. We're not looking to fight or to kill. We're just looking to be allowed to live without fear of being murdered and strung up in the streets."

"They just want to be able to breed with our daughters."

Alec stopped and looked at the protester who had spoken.

&

Back in HQ Max shook her head, "Alec don't."

&

Alec however looked at the man and flashed him a forced smile, "I'm sure that your daughter is a wonderful person and perfectly chaste, but we're really not looking to steal your daughters. First in our mind is that perhaps we don't want an angry mob to draw and quarter us."

"You're a murder," another crowd member.

"Yes," Alec said and the crowd quieted, "That I am, but not today. I was sent on missions that I was told for your greater good. I was trained in learning discipline and loyalty to this country. I am a soldier and I was trained from the time that I could crawl to be a solider. We all were. That is what we were told that we were good for. That is all we knew. I have kids in there who have never even seen a movie because we were never allowed to be children. We were supposed to just be soldiers. We aren't though, we're just like you. We have other passions that they tried to beat out of us, but those things are part of us, they make us what we are."

&

Logan stared at the glowing screen from his dark room. Honesty wasn't a usual tactic, but Logan watched as the crowd quieted and seemed to be focusing on Alec. They actually began to listen.

&

Alec looked at the protesters and pointed to the man who was so scared for his daughter's virtue.

"You Jethro," Alec said, "Did your dad ever beat you?"

The man looked around and everyone waited. Everyone was now listening to Alec, the crowd was eerily quiet.

"Well I will take that as a yes. Well we were beaten if we were too slow, or if we weren't tidy or if for some reason we didn't live up to the impossible standards they set. If we acted in any way outside of our training, like drawing or daydreaming we were locked in a cell three feet by three feet for four or five days without food or water. And if we were especially bad we were shot in the head. Do you know what it is like at four years old to see someone your own age who you considered family to be shot in the head in front of you?"

&

TC was hushed as the crowd outside. All of the transgenics had endured some kind of punishment. They all remembered all too well painful moments in their lives. They may feel something of the loss of structure of Manticore, but they stood a little taller because they no longer were ruled by terrorism.

&

"That was just training." Alec continued, "If you failed missions or they thought that perhaps your genetic make up would mean that you would run you got sent to a special place where they ran tests on you and torture you. I was nine the first time and they had to restart my heart twice because they pushed so many drugs into my system. The doctors, the directors, our handlers, these weren't transgenics, these were human people just like you. Have you ever found a four year old who actually deserved to be shot in the head? Well they did."

&

Max was white knuckling it. She was shaking as she remembered her childhood. She felt like Alec was laying her bare, he was telling his story, but it was common to many of them. He wasn't just telling his story, he was opening her young life to be scrutinized by every one in the world. Her secrets were being relayed from satellite to satellite. Words she had never been able to say to anyone were being said out loud. Joshua came up behind her and held her.

&

"Don't be fooled the government funneled millions into this project. They knew. They knew that children were being tortured. Do you know what they tried to do to us when the world found out that we existed? They locked down the barracks and burned us from the inside. All of us were under twenty and they attempted to burn us alive."

&

Logan watched Alec, the happy go lucky guy was gone. This Alec was not the 494 on a mission who had come into his apartment the night of Max had come back with the virus. This was someone with his own voice who held a hostile crowd in the palm of his hand.

This was a leader.

&

"We've been treated like crap from the day we were born and we'd really like people to stop telling us they would like to kill us, beat us or just plain torture us because we exist. I didn't ask to exist. It isn't as if one day I decided to create myself and while I was at it decided to be super human. We are here because you made us, humans tried to brake us, but what they didn't realize that that we are stronger than they thought. We aren't lackeys we can take care of ourselves and we can take care of each other. We're just asking to be given a chance in hell of living. We've paid in blood for the right to belong here and we aren't going anywhere."

With that Alec whirled away.

&

Alec strode away and as soon as he was out of the view of the cameras and the outside world he collapsed against a wall. His head buried in his knees he heard Mara and Hal come to stand quietly next to him, followed by Bugler.

After a few more minutes he heard guards coming from TC. He looked up and saw three HQ guards.

He smiled weakly, "So guys on a scale of one to fifty how pissed is Max right now."

The guards looked straight ahead, "Director Guevara would like to see you in HQ now, sir."

"That happy is she?" Alec muttered.

Alec leaned his head against the wall. Two of the transgenics turned and waited for him to move. The third came up to him and knelt down.

"Here," he whispered, "Mole sent you this."

Unceremoniously a flask was tossed into his lap.

Alec looked at the X-6 and unscrewed the cap. He toasted the boy.

"You're Toby right?"

The boy nodded, a smile escaping that he had been recognized.

"Well here's to you Toby. You're now my favorite person in the world."

Alec took a long swig and he was pleasantly surprised that fifteen-year-old scotch was invading his senses, which probably was a really bad sign.

Alec stood up, "This definitely is my death march."

&

Max was standing on the upper level when he entered. She looked down at him. Mole stood next to her in his always-stoic manner. Dix and Joshua and many of the other transgenics stood behind them, waiting.

Alec stood at attention waiting for her to speak. When she didn't for a bit he began to think of all the gossip that this would generate. There wasn't much else to do but form your own methods of entertainment and the talk that this was going to generate was probably going to keep everyone amused for days. As would his court marshal or new duties as dishwasher.

"Soldier," Max said evenly, "Do you have anything to say?"

Alec looked up at her, "You told me I was to speak for TC. The prohibitions were that I was not to divulge our numbers, our training, our personal strength, and the weapons capacity. I have fulfilled all mission parameters."

Max nodded, "You have no regrets about your speech?"

Alec looked her straight in the eye, "I have one . Calling the over protective father Jethro probably wasn't the best idea."

Max looked down and was silent for a moment. Then she looked at Mole.

"What do you think?"

Mole shook his head, "What is with saying some of us are funny looking?"

Alec stood stalk still. They both were ganging up on him, but as he caught Max's eyes he saw something.

"I don't know that the whole daughter comment was pretty good," Max said, She turned to Alec, "I cannot believe that you said that."

He would have taken that as an admonishment, but Max looked at Mole and suddenly she started laughing as did a few others in HQ. Even Mole cracked a smile.

"I know can you imagine one of us sullying ourselves with that piece of trash's daughter?" Mole said letting out a gruff noise that could have been laughter. Then he got serious, "I thought you would be funnier."

Joshua walked up to Alec and gave him a hug, spinning him.

"Jethro, that is funny," the large dog man said excitedly.

When Joshua put him down Max was in front of him, smiling.

"You were brilliant," she said pulling him into a hug.

She pulled away enough to look at him, but her hands remained around his neck.

He searched her face, "So you're not mad that I lost my temper and went off about all of that?"

Max shook her head, "We've been listening to the private transmissions of the military. When you first started they were mocking us as just another public speaker, when you started to get into it, there was silence. They're going to contact us tomorrow morning and get us a liaison. It is already in the works."

She grinned ear to ear at him, "You did it. I told you so!!"

Alec swallowed hard and pulled her close for another hug. HQ had turned into a party scene and people were milling about not paying attention to him anymore after the joke, but he was surprised that she was holding on to him.

"I knew you could do it," she told him quietly as he held her.

He pulled back and put an arm around her, she put both of hers around him. He took the flask out of his pocket and gave her a quick kiss on the head before taking another sip.

"Maxie don't ever do that again. You had me thinking that I was a dead man."

Max gave him a disbelieving look, "You think I would let Mole give you our best scotch if we were going to kill you? If you had messed up we would have let the crowd have you. I'm sure Jethro would love to have you stay with him."

Alec nodded, "Did you feel that too, I thought the two of us had a connection."

Max laughed, "Alec do you realize that this is the first good news we've had since they started targeting us?"

"What can I say, I'm amazing."

Max punched him lightly in the gut, "You're cocky and you got lucky. Now in a few days you have to meet with whoever our new liaison is, try not to piss him off too much. I wouldn't imply how we could beat any soldier at anything by the age of seven and please don't imply that his fellow people were the ones who tortured us."

"Maxie, don't ruin my fun," he said to her and then turned to the rest of HQ, "People listen up, tonight is to be fun and festivities. Work is canceled and crack out those kegs, I want to see dancing and general socializing. We're celebrating our first step toward something better than this rundown toxic place."

HQ started cheering.

Alec caught Max looking at him suspiciously, "What do we have to run this by the committee?"

Max shook her head, "No, I was thinking that maybe that is a good idea, we could use some fun. I'm sure many people here haven't ever had any fun. I was thinking that maybe the nights of doing whatever you want aren't over. Maybe tonight will be one of those good memories you didn't think you'd ever have."

Alec swallowed.

"You going to be with me Maxie, paint the town red, sing some songs, show the kids a good time."

Max nodded, "Where else would I be?"

Alec smiled at her. He had never felt like this. He had done a job well, and everyone was congratulating him. He was warm from the liquor, and having her right by his side was pleasantly perfect. There was something there, something in her smile, in her eyes. She had opened up and he liked this girl, and he was pretty sure that she was…

"Max, incoming from Logan."

Max jumped away from Alec's embrace instantaneously. Her smile faded and suddenly she looked guilty.

Alec looked at the yard between them and suddenly he felt cold. She didn't look at him, she walked to the private console in the back and began to speak to Logan.

Alec watched her go.

&

The party was in full swing. Max had looked around for Alec all night.

However she had to play life coach to those who had never had away missions. First there was the dance floor, where those who knew classical dancing and those who were trained for clubbing missions were combining their skills. The trangenics were naturally graceful and a completely original style began to form. Max had to admit that dancing was fun and the new steps were really cool.

Then she had the huge task of integrating the transhumans, py-ops transgentics, with the X-series. Everyone seemed to be staying with their own at first. Eventually everyone began to integrate, thanks in part to beer.

When everything started to go well the beer caused a few fights, a few incidents of improper behavior, and too much drama. Max was able to calm down everything and most people were milling to their beds or someone's bed.

Through out the night Alec was on her peripheral radar, but he never came near. She wasn't stupid she knew that she had reacted badly and suddenly it was as if four months of a solid relationship was blown. She knew that he was avoiding her.

It was a few hours before dawn when Max escaped and climbed to the rooftops. She surveyed the remnants of the crowd and could see Alec talking to a group of girls. She watched him smile and laugh. He was relaxed and happy. It made her remember all the times she had tolerated him when she first met him.

He was right, they didn't have many memories that seemed good at the time, but there were moments that made her smile now. She watched him and she liked what she saw, she liked what she remembered. He had become part of her world and he had become her sanity, but he knew Logan was…well Logan. He seemed like something from a lifetime ago.

But Alec wouldn't know that because Logan never came up when she was in his arms. There was nothing further from her mind.

And where she slept at night had never come up in conversation with Logan.

Other girls at TC had never come up in her nightly talks with Alec and she had never thought if he missed that. she realized that she had been selfish, he had quite a reputation to uphold. She watched him a little while longer and then sadly pulled herself away to the strange room that she had her belongings in and crawled into bed. She tossed and turned, but she couldn't sleep. She wasn't used to this room. It was supposed to be hers, but she had rarely slept here.

Plus there was a gnawing feeling in her stomach whenever she thought of the look on Alec's face when she pulled away from him. She had been warm and happy one moment and then without thinking she was suddenly cold and isolated, he had looked at her with such pain.

Max knew that her face was full of shame. It wasn't what he thought though. The shame was not over the fact that she was publicly with him or planning on enjoying an evening with him.

She felt guilty that she had forgotten Logan completely. For days her thoughts had only been of Alec.

&

Max awoke feeling sluggish. She couldn't shake off the sleep that had been full of running in the dark after something, just not being able to find it. She hadn't drank the night before, but this morning was harder to wake up to than nights of getting blasted at Crash.

When she opened her eyes the sun was peaking through the window. She blinked and saw that Alec was sitting there watching her.

She smiled sleepily.

"How long have you been here."

His expression didn't change from the serious blank look on his face.

"Long enough."

Max lifted the covers, "Come in, tell me a story."

"I don't think so."

She stretched lazily, "Come on they won't need us for a few more hours."

Alex sighed and played with something between his hands.

She looked at it, but was unable to tell what it was.

"What's that?"

Alec took a beat and then held up a vial, "This is the cure."

Max wrinkled her nose, "For what?"

Alec smiled sadly, "For Logan."

"What," Max said stupidly as suddenly her heart lurched, "How did you get this?"

Alec let out a snort, "We're really smart remember. One of the med guys helped make the virus. It wasn't too hard. They finished it two weeks ago."

"Two weeks?" Max asked, trying to wrap her head around it, "Why are you giving it to me now?"

He looked at her blankly, "This is your chance, take this. You can have the normal life, the normal guy now. Just take it Max."

He called her Max, he never called her Max anymore. She took the vial he was offering her and she resisted a shudder.

He reached besides him and pulled out a bag, "Here is the standard away package. Two -week supply of Tactil-81, which will give you a close to normal temperature, take one every eight hours. There is Trytiphane, just in case. Also there are Ids…

"What are you doing," she interrupted.

He shook his head, "Giving you what you want."

"You're kicking me out."

"No, I'm giving you a choice. Every time he calls you jump and you're on the phone forever. You miss him. Go be with him."

"But I'm kind of known. My picture is everywhere. How can I just go enter that world again?"

Alec smiled the dazzling devil may care smile, but he couldn't make it reach his eyes.

"That's your deal. You were with him for a year with the virus, you can probably figure out a new way to be together despite a mere army and a horde of angry citizens."

"What about everything here. There is so much to do."

"We have plenty of people," he gave her a weak version of his charming smile, "I'm sure that we can find four or five people combined to fill your shoes. You want to be with him, he can't live here. The equation is pretty simple, you've got to go be with him."

He threw her the vial. It felt cool against her hands. She was shaking a bit. It had been so easy when she had an excuse. It would have been the most welcome thing months ago before the siege, before…

She looked up at the man before her. His eyes gave nothing away.

"Why."

"Why, what."

"Why two weeks, you said you had the virus for two weeks. Why now? Why not even tell me that you were working on it."

There was a flash. For an instant his downcast eyes were open and venerable. She knew at that moment why. She also knew that he would never lie to her, not now. She knew him too well to hear a lie anyway.

"Not important," he told her and got up to leave.

In a flash she stood before him and the door.

"It is to me."

She stood her ground and he bored holes into her.

"Let it go," he said through clenched teeth.

She didn't back down.

"Why."

Her met her eyes and his stance changed. He leaned over towards her. Suddenly he seemed a predator, something dangerous.

Instinct told her to run, but he reacted first.

His hand tangled in her hair and closed the space between them. His other hand brought her body flush against him. His lips came down on hers. She reacted to his touch, moving to conform. Matching his onslaught.

When he pushed her away he still stood with all of the animalistic alpha, but he wouldn't look at her.

"Because," he said hoarsely, "I liked it. I like you coming to me. I liked believing that you weren't pretending it wasn't me in the dark. I liked believing that you were falling asleep with me and not some dream of Logan."

Logan's name was cold water on her flushed body.

But her heart still beat rapidly.

She stood indignant, "There were only two people in that bed at night and I know exactly who I was with."

"Good for you!" Alec spat, "I won't be your creature comfort substitution in the dark, while you pine away for your epic Shakespearian tragedy romance."

Her pushed her aside and stormed out.

Max collapsed on the bed. She looked at the vial and shuddered. She brought her legs up to her chest.

She was so cold.

Not since leaving Manticore back in '09 had she been so confused as to what she was supposed to do and where she was supposed to go.


	2. Part II

A/N: Wow and just wow. Thank you for the response. I guess that fandoms never die, they just go into fanfiction syndication. Can you believe that I never watched the show until three months ago? I'm so glad that you guys are still here keeping this alive. Its sad, but hey we all have to pass the time some way.

For the doubters, this is Max and Alec . Please have faith that I won't make this too tragic and hopefully not too trite. Max makes things difficult enough and this is so not a story about long paths and they have to pine away, blah. However it won't always be cookies and all things wrapped up in the nice little sitting. Trust me though I will make things have good and bad. Kind of like an ideal life.

For all those who expect me to keep writing ten to fifteen pages every few days, I'm sorry, I can't. However I will post things when I think they say what I want them to say without being forced.

Thank you so much for reading and reviewing.

Knowing you like this and are interested is a fire under my butt to keep it coming.

PS If you think that a chapter seems a bit too easy or lacking tell me. I don't want to write anything that doesn't seem believable. Bring on the flames.

Part II

Escaping from TC was a joke. Max gave everyone she passed on the way out a smile and had pleasant conversations while her mind was screaming. She didn't let on that anything was wrong. She laughed with some kids playing in the street on their way to the makeshift school that had been pulled together in TC. Organized classes and organized games were instituted for all of the X-6 and X-7. Max insisted that they still learn and exorcise, but she argued heavily that they not be trained.

Alec pointed out that everyone in TC was in danger and should know how to protect themselves. Mole had agreed. The compromise was that they learned self defense, how to blend it, and only minimal gun play. The rest of their time was spent in an extreme form of sports and an advanced education.

Max watched the children and marveled at how normal life had become inside of a barricade.

Max also stopped and gossiped with some of the other X-5 milling about. For people who were taught to only speak when addressed and only then speak in frank sentences, the transgenics were becoming remarkably adept at expressing their own opinions and talking about everything.

Max watched the interaction and almost smiled despite herself.

There was always someone to speak to. She took a second to check out an X-5's new knife. Some of the women found some cloth and they were debating if making a garment was anything like stitching up a fifteen inch leg wound. It was just a normal day in TC.

She heard the laughter but couldn't be a part of it, because for the life of her she couldn't figure out how she was feeling. She slipped through the sewers and then she slipped back into the world that she hadn't seen for four months. In truth she hadn't wanted to. She had Alec run all of the missions on the outside.

Part of her knew it was because she didn't trust herself. She didn't know if perhaps the weight of people actually needing her, believing in her was too much. She didn't know if she would run if she was given the opportunity.

Now she had the cure, now she had a place to run to.

She held tightly onto a painted rock that one of the young X-7 had given her, the boy had been in Joshua's painting class and had given her a stone that echoed the runes that occasionally appeared on her skin..

When she entered the 'normal' streets suddenly things felt bleaker and she didn't feel a part of this world either.

When she walked the streets of TC people said hi, smiled, or asked questions. As she walked the streets of Seattle people barely noticed she existed. She was completely isolated here. She walked for hours, through the crowds.

People were wary these days. Twice she had to pull her pack closer as pickpockets came near. This outside world was what she had known for so long, but it was so alien to her now. She remembered living on these streets and having people look away or look down on her.

This world of normal was harsh and cruel.

Which was an odd thought for her. Manticore had been so much more harsh and cruel and plain brutal, but this place was agonizing.

As the sun set she was a top the Space Needle, she watched the brilliant colors of the sunset. When the sun went down she couldn't sit anymore. She stood up and ran. Running was what she was good at.

&

The thud echoed through HQ from the committee's office. Dix didn't look up from his screen, "Eighteen."

Mole sat in a chair and looked up at the ceiling. HQ was empty except for Dix, Luke, Joshua and Mole. Alec had come raging in the morning and by noon everyone had cleared out. No one wanted to be in visual range of Alec, the few who had were immediately chewed out in a way that would make any of their Manticore drill instructors proud. Alec had reeked of alcohol by two and at three he had begun to pace. At five he had declared war on the steel beams in the office and every half hour or so he would hit them or kick them and the reverberations would echo through TC. He was up to eighteen now. An X-5 could only stand twenty-three such blows on metal before they destroyed something on their bodies.

"What do you think is going on? He hasn't been this bad since Max was in heat," Luke asked.

Dix looked up, "Well if Max is gone then she probably found out about the cure."

"I told you it would be bad if we figured that out," Mole said gruffly, "Helping that ordinary shouldn't be on our list of priorities."

Luke shrugged, "What else did the tech have to do?"

No one could think of anything, everyone in TC was coming up with projects and teaching each other random things to keep from thinking. It was chaotic and random, but Manticore had drilled anything lazy out of them before they could walk.

Right now there was nothing to do in HQ as well as everywhere else. TC had a strange sort of calm around it. In HQ the brave four lieutenants were just waiting to make sure that Alec didn't kill himself with alcohol or by bashing his head against the wall.

"This is just great," Mole grumbled, "We have to meet with the damned army in three days and our director is AWOL, our CO is drunk, and they're not really going to want to talk to me."

"Fubar?" Joshua asked.

Dix and Luke nodded in affirmation. Things always had the possibility of being volatile. Being on the edge of a crowd calling for the genocide of your kind could make one on edge. Things could have been bad. They hadn't been, either on the inside or out. Max and Alec had run a clean ship. Everyone was fed, taken care of, put in a group, and given something to do. It hadn't always been perfect, but they were getting positive results and most of the city inhabitants were content and even productive.

Now things seemed shakey.

"Beyond fubar. Things start to go well and now we have to deal with their romantical drama," Mole pointed out.

Joshua thought for a moment. He had watched Alec lead the past few months and there was always one thing that worked when nothing else did.

"Alec misses Max," Joshua pointed out, "Alec needs to hit something that will hit back."

Dix and Luke backed up leaving Mole standing in the forefront.

Mole put up his hands, "I'm not going in there unless I have a gun and I think that will turn out real bad."

There was silence.

And then a thud.

"Nineteen," Luke said to no one in particular.

Dix considered things a moment, "What about a boxing round. Alec sets those up when the males are going all heat crazy. Why not have one now. He can pummel something, we'll get everyone to come. TC will get entertainment and maybe in the morning he'll be in too much pain to be angry."

They looked at each other, attempting to figure out if this was a joking thing or something they could possibly spend the night doing.

"Max would hate that idea," Luke pointed out.

Mole looked thoughtfully at them, "Well Max ain't here. With Alec out of his mind I'm in charge and I like the sound of a little cage match. Luke find the biggest fastest fighters. Joshua get Alec to the arena. We're going to have some fun tonight."

&

Original Cindy heard the door open and grabbed the frying pan next to the sink. When she whirled around there stood Max.

OC's face split into a grin, "Shit girl I was going to bean you."

Max's face didn't change. She looked exhausted and worried and about ready to cry.

"Boo, what's wrong?"

Max's bottom lip began to tremble all she could do was hold the vial. OC didn't waste time with words. those could come later right now her girl just needed her to be there for her.

&

Alec stood viciously in one side of the arena. He was hunched over looking over the movements of his opponents. It was Alec, it was 494, but at the same time it wasn't.

On the other side were transhumans and the best hand-to-hand combat fighters that the X-5 line had to offer. Some of them looked scared to be taking on their CO. Others just looked read to one up the Alpha.

Around them in the 'arena' or baseball field as the ordinaries called it were three hundred of the residents of terminal city. After four months of just trying to survive the last two days had brought good news, a party and now they had more entertainment. After a lifetime of regimented lifestyles and a few months of hiding and scrapping they were thrilled to actually do something extracurricular. Unlike behind the walls of Manticore, they weren't expected to learn anything from this. They just had to enjoy it. It was new for most of them, and they kind of liked it.

Alec had readily agreed to fight, seeing how he was drunk and the steel beam was a poor opponent he was easy to convince. Fighting meant thinking of only one thing the task at hand. In a fight you had to watch one opponent and read them. Any other thought would mean loss. All Alec wanted to do was loose himself because in his body and in his head things were a bit raw.

Joshua watched his CO and for a second he was worried. This could quite possibly turn out badly. The scary thing was that the kid getting ready for the fight didn't look like Alec. He looked predatory. He wasn't doing this for fun. He was doing this because he needed the release.

Alec caught his eye, but couldn't offer any reassurance. He wasn't sure who he was right now. All he knew was that he had put everything out there that was Alec, and she was still gone.

He didn't know what the hell that meant for the part of him that was still Alec.

In front of the crowd Mole sat like a king flanked by Dix. He was enjoying this.

"While the cats are away…" he began.

"The lizard will play?" Dix volunteered sarcastically.

Luke came up to them and nodded.

"Everyone knows the rules. The winner is the one who takes down Alec, no matter which round. There is no punching to the face by request of Mole who thinks that Alec needs to look pretty when he meets with the military guys. There is no kicking in the balls by request of Alec due to some other cage fight he was in."

Mole snorted, he had heard the story of Max versus Alec. It was still one of his favorite things to tease Alec about. Getting beaten by a transgenic girl still was getting beaten by a girl, even if that girl could kick the ass of most of the population. Tormenting someone didn't always have to be logical.

"I give him five rounds," Mole announced.

Dix looked at Alec and calculated, "I give him nine."

"He's been drinking all day and his hands are shit from hitting the beam," Mole pointed out.

"Is this a bet?" Dix asked.

"I don't know you still owe me a flame thrower," Mole replied, "I don't know if I can trust you not to neg."

Dix rolled his eyes.

"What are you going to do with a flame thrower?"

Mole shrugged.

"Toast some protesters, make flambé a la Familiars, keep me warm in the cold Seattle nights."

Dix looked haughtily at Mole.

"Must be a bitch not having any females of your lizardness type."

Which was only partially true. The transhuman females were just rare.

Mole snorted, Double or nothing?"

"You're on."

&

"He can't really kick you out," OC said. Max sat next to her on the couch, the crying jag was over for now, but Max's face was still puffy and her words were less than coherent. OC thought that she had most of the story, but she still was unsure about the details.

Max shook her head sadly, "That is the thing. He's not kicking me out. He is giving me an out. In this bag that he gave me is enough for me to start a new life with Logan. All we have to do is pack up Bessie and make it to the Canadian border. Stupid Alec, making everything more complicated."

OC looked confused at Max. For so long she had been so focused on Logan. OC thought that this would be an easy decision. As she watched her friend and she suddenly understood. Max wasn't just confused about leaving TC and the trangenics.

Max was looking down at the vial. OC tilted her head and asked Max a pointed question.

"So your boy, what does he think of this cure?" she said slowly.

"I don't know what he was thinking. He doesn't even want to be a part of TC, but suddenly he gets some power and he thinks that I don't belong there. I don't know why he had them find the cure, I don't know why he gave it to me. I think that he just wants to be rid of me. We share something real and suddenly I'm too much in the way of his women, and his drinking and his being."

OC smiled. She had been right. Something had gone on. Something was going on and it had to be important if Max was contemplating not going back to Logan. For an entire year all that was keeping Max away from Logan was the damned virus. Now something else had entered the picture and OC knew damned well what that might be. She had figured something might happen that first day when Max started in on Alec's talking and laughing and breathing.

"Boo," OC said softly, "I was asking about Logan."

"Oh," Max said, deflating realizing how much she gave away, "Well he doesn't know yet."

OC nodded, "Does he know about you and Alec."

Max wrinkled her nose and got defensive, "There is no me and Alec, we are nothing."

"Please, I know you better than anyone. There is something going on."

Max sighed and stood up. she began pacing and gesturing with her hands. She seemed to be collecting her thoughts and it was a few moments before she spoke.

"We sleep together, and not in the naked sexy way. We just end up in his bed at the end of the day and talk."

She tested the words and then grimaced. It seemed a little off to her too.

OC studied her skeptically, not believing a word of it.

"We don't do anything. I have nothing to feel guilty about. He's one of us, he gets me, and we are working together. I have nothing to feel guilty about."

"Hmm," OC said skeptically, "Let me tell you a story honey."

"I dated this fine honey once," she told Max, "We were fire in the sack, but we didn't have much in common. I didn't sweat it, we were good together. She started meeting up with this intellectual babe. They would talk for hours. I still was fine with it. She never lied to me about where she was going and they included me. At first I wasn't jealous because she still loved me and it was hot when we were together, but there was something in her I couldn't touch. I began to feel left out. There was part of her I just didn't get. This other person could. They denied it for the longest time, but eventually I came home and all I had was a note. She left me for that girl they had 'never done anything' but they realized that they had something."

Max stood with her hands on her hips.

"Its not like that with us, she said, still defensive, "I mean we talk and we get each other, but we're Manticore. You can't understand what it is like to be us unless you are us. I mean his speech today was amazing. It was more amazing to me because what he said were the words I can never say. I saw my sister be shot for being weak and it is something that I can't bring up with friends. He stood there and in a calm clear voice told the world what they did to us. He read every agony I've ever lived out loud. That was a big no no on Manticore rules and he stood up to his reindoctoration and everything. He's the bravest person I know."

And as she said it Max realized that it was true. Logan as Eyes Only once held that position, but now suddenly her heart lurched at the thought that she had left the transgenics at TC behind, she had left Alec behind.

"What are you feeling, Boo," OC asked her searching her face, "Do you have feelings for Alec too?"

Max shrugged helplessly and sat down and buried her face in her hands, "I don't know. I love Logan, but Alec, well Alec is home to me."

"So what do you choose, home or heart?"

Max looked so lost, OC gave her a hug and whispered in her ear, "Could your home ever be your heart?"

Max could feel the tears well up in her eyes. She saw the people at TC that she had convinced to stay. She saw Logan and the comfort he offered. She saw Joshua, Zero, Bullet, Ralph, Fix-it, and Bugler safe and happy to be back among their own. She saw Mole and Dix listening to her, following her lead. She saw the girls she taught to dance just last night and the young X-6s flirting, or attempting to for the first time.

And she saw Alec. From the moment that he entered her life he had been there. He had been against her and for her.

But no matter where she was he was there, Jam Pony, Crash, with Mermaids, at cage fights, and at the ready whenever there was something going on, even on the nights when all there was to do was play pool. He never asked her to change who she was, he accepted whatever she was feeling whether it be that she was not going to breed with him or she was going to start a transgenic power struggle. He sat with her and listened to her and told her what she didn't want to hear.

Max opened her mouth and words came tumbling out.

OC leaned back and listened as Max ranted and raved. The girl had to choose and like all the decisions that she was facing lately it was not an easy one.

&

494 ducked a blow aimed for his shoulder and delivered an uppercut to the X-5's jaw. He gave it all the power he had left, a supply that was dwindling, and the hulking soldier fell backwards. He had lost the ability to see clearly long ago. He had ribs that were badly bruised, his hands were a pulp and he was pretty sure that something in his left hand was broken. He stood tall and waited. Once one went down another would come up.

This time no one did. He felt a presence behind him and turned to face it.

"Medium Fella, its over," a familiar voice said brokenly.

"Bring on the next one," he said through a sore jaw. His voice was commanding.

"There is no one left," a gravely voice said.

494 stood tall.

He couldn't see them, but he stood at attention.

"Alec, you won," another voice said.

Alec.

494 closed his eyes.

He was Alec. She had said so. He was Alec because her second choice was Dick.

Right now he wanted to be anything but Alec.

But his legs gave out and he fell to the ground.

Everything hurt.

He looked up and could see the faces of his SIC and his lieutenants. They looked at him with a little bit of awe and a lot of fear. He choked back the last of the rage and managed to stand up again. He couldn't lie down. He had to make sure that he was still Alec. He breathed in and he felt it.

He had been many people in his life, he had been a soldier first, he had been a twin of a freak, he had been a myriad of aliases. Those things they had told him he had to be. However inside of him had always been that spark of personality that eventually she would name Alec.

No one could beat it out of him. the strength, the weakness, the power, the vulnerability they were all still there after the fight, after loosing her. When she walked out he was so terrified that "Alec" would go with her, Manticore had named him so many things, but he put 494 away when they weren't in control, he had put away all the people that they had made him become when the mission was over. In the back of his mind he wondered if "Alec" was just another face that he wore.

Alec was still here though.

He felt the same, even with her gone. He felt empty and he missed her, but he was still Alec.

He smiled a bloody smile that freaked out his lieutenants.

"Be happy Maxie," he said a promptly passed out.

&

"This was a good idea," the Doc said sarcastically looking at the patient in the bed.

Dix, Mole, and Luke stood before the doctor while Joshua made sure that Alec was comfortable in his completely unconscious state.

The doctor scowled at them, "He's probably not slept for four days, he's intoxicated, and you had him fight eleven opponents."

"Fourteen," Joshua injected.

"But only five were any good," Dix pointed out.

The doctor glared at him, "That is so good to know."

The sarcasm made everyone but Joshua flinch.

Joshua competed setting up the room and looked at the stalemate at the door.

"Bedtime now. Tomorrow we will make everything better."

The doctor looked at the clipboard I his hands, "Atleast for most of you tomorrow will be better. Alec probably won't be up for a day or so. So maybe you want to try to make things all nice so that way when he wakes up he thinks less about killing you."

Mole, Dix and Luke wisely chose to remain silent as they left the room.

The Doc looked at Alec and rolled his eyes and left the room. Joshua lay down on the floor and covered himself with a blanket. Alec would need him when he woke up.

&

Max stood on the porch of Joshua's house.

Last night had not soothed anything. She still felt as if there were a fight between herself and her home.

The first day that Alec had begun work at Jam Pony he had followed her on her deliveries. It was a day of his voice and his smile and his laugh. Now that feeling was multiplied. As she had tried to sleep last night he haunted her. She felt his arms and his voice at her neck. She felt him arguing with her, laughing at her, holding her while she cried.

Her thoughts had been a mess of random snippets.

She thought of Alec.

Everyday he had been there with everyday ordinary issues.

She had thought of Logan.

Logan was exhausting with his continuous crusades to help people that he barely knew.

Logan fought causes and Alec fought for those he had begrudgingly come to think of as family.

She tried not to think of that other thing, but that haunted her too.

He had kissed her.

Why the hell had he kissed her then?

All the nights he had her at her most venerable she had been in his arms his hands had never strayed. For four months he had been the perfect gentleman. She had been in his bed almost every night. There had been no one but her, and he had never taken her. He had never kissed her until she forced his hand.

That was when it changed.

He had told her and showed her. He had made her toes curl and her body melt.

Max remembered something from her conversation with OC last night.

_"He's just a man whore anyway," Max had said, " He was just probably kissing me because if he didn't do it then he would never get the chance and that would ruin his chance at becoming the first man in the world to kiss every woman within a thirty year age bracket."_

_OC gave her a exasperated look, "Sugar I won't be telling you that your boy…"_

_"He's not my boy," Max said automatically._

_OC stared her down, "As I was saying ALEC may be quite a player, but the way to recognize if a player is doing something more than playing is if he stop playing games."_

_Max looked at her confused, "So you're saying that Alec is hitting on me by not hitting on me?"_

_"No Boo," OC said quietly, "I'm saying that players will play as long as there are no feelings. When there are feelings they avoid the situation completely."_

_Max jumped up suddenly, "No Alec and I are…"_

_She trailed off, not knowing how to define their relationship._

_"What are you and Alec?" OC asked._

_"Logan and I…" Max began._

_OC shook her head, "This isn't about you and Logan. I'm not asking about you and Logan. What about you and Alec."_

_Max sat down. She really couldn't answer that one._

So she stood at Logan's door.

When he opened it he had that smile on his face. It was the sweet one that he always greeted her with. Without thinking only feeling she smiled back.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, "Not that you shouldn't be."

"I have something for you," she said with a smile.

"I have something to tell you. I was just about to call you," Logan said excitedly gesturing her into the room, "I just received a call from Washington. There is a group forming there to champion the rights of transgenics. I've pulled a few strings and if you and all of the people in Terminal City want I will be your representative there. This isn't some underground movement. This is for real. There are going to be Congressional hearings and there are actually some groups out there who think that you need to be heard. It's a great opportunity. I know that you guys in TC are all busy. You all have places. You're running the show Alec is the face, now I can be the muscle for you. The very boring muscle in a suit, but the muscle none the less."

"What?" Max asked, confused at the track that this was taking..

"You need someone in Washington and seeing as you all will be lynched on sight it seems like a good idea to have someone who isn't a transgenic. I know that I'm not one of you, but you have to admit that you don't have that many options."

Logan was so excited. He always did love a cause. He had a beaming smile and she knew that this was partially for her, but also mostly so he could feel useful, so he could be doing something to save the unfortunate. He was honestly a really good guy.

Max bit her lip. It would be so easy. This was completely a way out.

But it wouldn't be her if she didn't just add to the pain.

She held out the vial.

"What's that," Logan asked.

"The cure," she answered.

"For what," Logan asked.

"For the virus."

"What," he said, "How did you get that?"

Max was amazed at the parroting of her own words. There was something about the similarity of reaction, there was something about how both of them thought first about the how they had obtained the cure, and not the ramifications.

The fairy tale had yielded to reality.

Logan sat down.

"So…" he said looking at the vial in her hands.

"So," she agreed.

"I can stay here," he said after a moment, "I can stay and we can find someone else to go to Washington. I'll stay here with my informants and we can make changes from the inside."

She looked at him and was surprised by the lack of the conviction in his voice. For so long he had hid behind Eyes Only. He was thrilled to actually be making a difference using his face, but he would give it up for her. She felt selfish because she realized that she couldn't. she couldn't give up her family for him. In fact she couldn't even say that she would choose him if it were a sunny day and they were all back at Jam Pony.

Something had changed.

Something was coming dangerously close to her heart.

"No."

It was a whisper. She looked up at him and sucked on her lip. He looked at her curiously.

"We can't do this anymore," she said, feeling real tears because as much as what she was right, it still hurt, "We go through all of this stuff apart. We try and we try and something always comes up. I need you to be in Washington, but I can't wait for you back here. We've always kept this distance between us even before the virus. Whenever we start to get close one of us pulls away or something pulls us away. There is something missing here, something about touch. We've only had a few moments of touch and what we have is slipping away. We can't keep postponing life in order for a hypothetical future touch. It will kill us."

"Tangibility," Logan whispered, "We had the emotions but not the tangibility."

She noticed his use of the past tense and she felt her heart constrict. This wasn't easy.

He looked up at her, "Just tell me it isn't Alec."

Manticore taught one how to lie very well.

"You know I was just doing that to push you away," she said tiredly about her not so cunning ruse to get rid of him without dumping him, "There was nothing between Alec and me."

She paused and thought of those words.

"Alec's not the kind of guy to steal another guy's girl," Max said realizing what it meant that he never touched her. She thought it was friendship, she thought it was disinterest. She never thought that it was respect. That was something strange and new.

Logan looked down at the ground and then he looked at her seriously.

"I know that Max," Logan said slowly, "But from the first day he waltzed into our lives he has been there. He's at work and at Crash and he's just so tangible."

Max smiled that was probably the closest that Logan would ever come to saying that Alec was good looking. There was no need to ruin a good break up with a truth that she didn't even know was a truth.

"So perhaps I should worry that you have a crush on him," she asked as lightly as she could, hoping her smile was true enough, "I did see you hug that one time."

Logan smiled a sad sort of relief.

"I know its just that it has always seemed like there was something there. He popped into our lives and suddenly everything somehow comes with Alec baggage, everything we do seems to incorporate him. You made him CO for goodness sake."

Anger was always a good cover. Manticore deception lesson #319.

"Right, everything has come with a Joshua baggage too," she said silently asking Joshua's forgiveness, "What now are you going to ask if I've been with him too? Alec escaped and I was a familiar place in this world. He's CO because I know he can handle it. Logan it is over between us. We both know and understand that. Don't make this about blame."

Logan looked at her and let out a long sigh.

Max put down the vial, "Use this. Call Asha, don't touch it just in case."

"Max," Logan said sadly, "If you ever need me call me, find me, you don't even have to knock. I will do anything for you."

Max smiled an honest smile, "I know you will."

She left Joshua's house and began walking towards TC.

She just wished she knew if she was walking towards her home or to her heart.


	3. Part III

Holy wow…thank you for the AMAZING REVIEWS. I appreciate each and everyone. It makes me totally want to sit down and write more (which I do).

I must take a minute to comment to a few reviews that caught my eye (although they all are appreciated).

SRC13: I just can't picture Max CO of people she never wanted to be part of. Alec is a much more logical choice, atleast to me.

Eden: I won't be able to break your idea that this 'been done before', it has, but I hope to do it better. I don't want to be a cliché.

LakerGirl08: I hate pining. I hope to offer you a pining free story. Wish me luck.

TimeToWaste247: I KNOW. I've been picturing Jensen for the entire story, and also at random points during my day. Hence the reason it is all so long. Strangely enough I've been picturing Mole, Dix, and Luke too, but just during the story time. Does that make me weird?

Cristique: Emotion 101 ha.. That just such a course that I could see Lydekker teaching in monatone. Ummm about that whole virus thing – yeah I meant that the virus had to be injected in Logan so he could form antibodies…kidding you found a plot hole, hopefully everyone was able to reason it away. Now you have figured out my secret. I am poor and underemployed and a wealthy doctor. Good catch.

Lakergirl08: I wasn't going to write in that she knew about the fight at all. However your comment lead me to try it which lead to a sexy situation, which I hope everyone enjoys

SammyGirlAtHeart: I know strangely enough hurting Alec is a strange perk for me too. I don't know why, but in this chapter he's bruised and battered so enjoy.

Deirax: I'm honored. Check out Valjean's Fan Fic and the nice people at Nuns with Pens – now those people can write.

A reader: You're prolific and wonderful. I'm a little in love with you right now.

Tasie: I'm a little in love with you too. I suffer from the no-review-itis also. Thank you so much for taking the time to jot down a little note.

Everyone: Keep reading, I'll keep writing.

Part III

Alec came to and immediately wished that he hadn't. It was just habit that the moment he woke up he took stock of himself and his surroundings. Today the outlook was less than stellar. his body was sore and swollen and agonizing. He calculated two broken ribs, a sprained wrist and enough bruises to keep him quite sore for days.

He smelled the sterile hospital smell, but even before processing a thought he knew that he was in no harm. How he knew that was always something that his immediate need to assure himself that he was safe was something he never thought about. Many nights in Psy-Ops had trained him better than anything else Manticore could have thought up. It was a sixth sense. He just knew when he woke up and someone was at the ready to torture him.

Unfortunately his mind seemed to be the only thing that would be okay today.

Then less than a second as he had processed everything he was awake. He woke to aches and pains of things that hadn't needed to be hitting or hadn't needed to be hit. He woke up knowing that he had been in rare form last night and he was glad that Max hadn't been there to admonish him or to give him that disappointed stare.

Max.

His heart hurt for a moment and it had nothing to do with the fight last night.

One second into his morning and he was ready to throw in the towel on the whole day.

Instead he opened his eyes.

He looked over and Joshua was painting on the other side of the room. Sunlight was streaming in the window and that made his mood worsen. He was in a dingy building in a toxic area of Seattle and for some reason all those factors didn't seem to prevent the sunshine and the blue sky.

Life was unfair.

"I'm court marshalling whoever decided I needed to fight the entire population of TC," Alec said attempting to use as few muscles as possible.

Joshua turned brush in hand, yellow paint splattered on his cheek. For a moment Joshua looked guilty. Then the large dog man put down his paintbrush and walked over to Alec.

"Alec, you're awake," Joshua said happily coming up and hugging Alec.

Alec moaned in pain and Joshua jumped away.

"Sorry Alec."

Alec nodded and leaned back, attempting to breathe as shallowly as possible. He closed his eyes. The perfectly photographic memory let him replay the nights events. Every punch he threw, and everyone that had connected was there in perfect clarity.

Alec had to nod in approval. He had performed flawlessly last night.

"So I won," Alec asked.

Joshua nodded, "You lasted fourteen rounds. You're the champion. Alec okay now?"

Alec thought for a second. He considered the broken ribs and the bruised body, which was nothing new. He had felt a lot worse physically many times.

But he knew that Joshua wasn't asking about his body. The transgenic body was a pretty miraculous thing. They didn't ask each other about cuts and bruises. Joshua was asking about the thing that had caused him to shut down. Physical pain was easy, but they had never taught the kids at Manticore to deal with emotional pain.

They had also never taught the kids at Manticore that ones best was good enough either.

He was surprised because he felt okay.

"I'm good," he said slowly, his mind returning away from himself and back to those who had been in his path, "How is everybody else?"

He tried not to think that within forty-eight hours of being leader of his people he had stupendously and totally made an ass out of himself.

Joshua thought for a moment, "Everybody but Hayden is back on active duty. Hayden went down like a bitch and he's still hurt."

Alec thought for a moment. He remembered Hayden. The hulking X-5 had been a unit leader at Manticore. He was a solid soldier who did everything by the book, even cheat. In the year he had been out of Manticore he had learned to be loud and brash. He didn't care that he was fighting his CO, who had already gone five rounds, he was going to use his mouth. as a weapon as well as his fists. A few comments about crazy brother Ben, the one failed mission that he had in his many years of service, and his position as strictly solo instead of a unit leader went unheeded.

However Hayden had mentioned Max's name and Alec had laid him out flat before the rest of the statement had been made.

Alec smiled despite his desire to be a strong leaderly type, "That is just too bad."

"Medium Fella needs to get out of bed now," Joshua said seriously, "Army Captain is coming at three. Mole says that you need to get up, eat, and get to HQ ASAP."

"Geeze a guy is hurt and he still has to report, I miss Manticore."

"Yes," Joshua agreed, "But Alec didn't get hurt on mission. Alec wanted to hurt and hit things and drink then sleep for two days. Things need to be done."

Alec pouted, "Stop being logical."

Joshua pressed a button and in the time that it took for Alec to sit up and put his legs over the side of the bed the X-4 who was residing as the chief medical staff came in. He looked over Alec and shook his head, "You should have a few more days and no more cage fights."

Alec nodded in agreement, "Yeah, but Big Green Desert Creature Second in Command needs me to meet with Uncle Sam."

The doctor looked him over, "You know you're not invincible. The advanced healing of your bodies may make things better, but you're only running down your clock faster. Every injury you sustain is just another way that you are running your bodies into the ground. You X-5 live like there is no tomorrow."

Alec managed to get into his pants on while the doctor was preaching at him. He looked suspiciously at his shoes and decided that perhaps he would attempt going barefoot or find a nifty pair of sneakers because there was no way that he could manage those boots right now.

He picked up his shoes without a care in the world and smiled at the doctor, "That is because until today there really was no tomorrow for any of us. Now Doc have you happened to see my shirt anywhere."

The doctor looked at the creature before him, barely out of his boyhood years and sighed. Alec was covered in nasty looking purple and black marks that were beginning to turn yellow and green at the edges He stood tall and straight when the doctor knew that his muscles must be screaming.

The doctor shook his head and picked up a shirt from the back of a chair and threw it at Alec, "No wonder your kind could never be submissive, they made you guys way to cocky."

Alec smiled, "But they made us so good looking so nobody would want to kill us for it."

The doctor rolled his eyes and then pointed to the door, "Go do your thing. Don't pass out."

Joshua lead Alec out and Alec clapped the doctor on the arm, "Good thing they made you doctors so smart, cause your bedside manners suck."

&

Alec and Joshua were shoveling in as much cereal into their mouths as quickly as possible.

"I like the bunny with the fruity things and the little green guy with the marshmallows," Joshua mumbled between bites of cereal.

Alec held up a square with a waffle grid, "I kind of like these ones that catch the milk."

"No," Joshua said fairly defiantly, "The milk should turn colors, see."

Alec looked at the purple brown colored milk and nodded. This was something he couldn't win. He thought in terms of structure and Joshua thought in terms of color. So Alec just went for placation, "I see, Its pretty."

"It kind of looks like your body after the fight," a gruff voice said as a heavy body landed next to Alec.

Alec looked at Mole, "I didn't know you were ogling my body, that's just … well wrong. We are incompatible physiologically you know."

Mole dug into his cereal, "Don't make me go adding to your collection of body art."

"Hey, thanks for the no face rule," Alec said sarcastically, "I can barely sit, but hey at least when I meet with the army guy I won't be all battered."

"We all have to give to the cause," Mole said non-committally, "Like you right now could not eat a tenth bowl of cereal and save us something for tomorrow."

Alec looked guiltily at his two empty boxes, "Are we running short?"

"Nah," Mole said as he examined the cooked black mass on his tray, "We sent out a few groups last night, the kids you worked with over the last few months know what they're doing now."

Alec felt a pang of loss. It wasn't his business to go out anymore, he didn't get to do the stakeouts or the thrill of rob and runs. Now it was all up to the 'kids'. He suddenly felt old, grown up and boring.

With a sigh he ate his last spoonful of cereal and moved to get up, "Well you know I have some leading to do, designating and such leader things."

"And you have to grease the army guy," Mole said, "See if he can get us some stuff."

"Hmm do you think the first day would be too soon to ask for ammo to hold up armories so we can get on with taking over the world?" Alec pondered.

"Probably wait til second meeting," Joshua said hunched over his bowl.

Mole and Alec looked at Joshua, who had been practicing his sarcasm, but from whom it was still strange to hear. Mole was about to comment when they got interrupted.

"Alec, Mole," a breathless X-7 said running to the cafeteria table, "Dix needs you now."

Alec looked at Mole and Mole glared at the kid.

The boy straightened up, "Sirs, there is an emergency at HQ. Requesting your presence immediately."

"I love it when they do that," Mole muttered and Alec nudged him in the ribs.

"What is going on?" Alec asked.

The kid shrugged, "I was just told that there was a disturbance at the barricade. They brought trucks and are requesting that we take the trucks in."

Joshua looked up, "Greeks bringing gifts?"

Alec raised an eyebrow, "Do you think that we haven't read our classic battle strategies. I mean I could understand if they tried to sneak in a fake X series or something, but please this one is far too obvious."

He sighed and prepared to get up. He knew that changing positions would hurt.

"Little Fella will want to see," Joshua said standing with Mole.

Alec stood up quickly and winced in pain. He reached out sympathetically to Joshua, "Big Fella, she's gone."

"She is?" Mole asked skeptically.

Alec looked at him strangely, "She left, I don't think that she's coming back."

His voice didn't betray the hurt, but he could feel the ache. It seemed strange to say the words out loud.

Mole looked at him steadily.

Then Mole chomped on his cigar.

Then Mole looked behind Alec.

Then Mole looked at Alec.

"Then why is she sitting over there?" Mole asked seriously.

Alec looked at him confused.

"Little Fella came back from the mission you sent her on. She was successful," Joshua pointed out excitedly.

Alec turned with transgenic speed that lead to immediate excruciating pain. He turned and looked at the place where Joshua was pointing. Max sat with Gem's baby, little Maxine. She was talking to some of the other X-5 women.

Alec was frozen. He couldn't do anything but look and try to figure it out. Figuring it out wasn't working and he couldn't do anything but stare stupidly. She was supposed to be with Logan, heading to Canada. She was supposed to be gone. She had everything she ever wanted, she had the outside world and the normal boyfriend.

He didn't understand why she was here.

The animal instinct kicked in and she felt him looking at her. Mostly because most of the cafeteria was staring at Alec, the recent cage match champion, staring at Max.

She looked at him and she smiled at him. When he didn't respond he smile faltered.

He couldn't move.

_What the hell was she doing here_? His mind asked over and over.

Fortunately Mole grabbed him by the arm and pulled him towards the door, "Get Max to HQ," He barked at the little messenger.

Halfway to HQ Mole stopped and pulled Alec into the doorway, "Look kid, I don't know what is going on, but whatever it is you need to put it away. This whole Max and you thing has put you in the hospital for a day, which is a precious day that you have lost. You have to catch up in five hours so your pretty mug can make an appearance. You need to memorize our demands and then the reasons. You have to catch up on the current events of what has been happening here. You have had your one free pass of personal trauma. You're a solider and you and Max need to start acting like you have some clue of what you are doing because this isn't time for your little drama. We've got Trojan Horses at the door and we have military ready to kill us and that kind of gets our focus over your love life. Got it soldier, and I use that word in hopes that you remember what you are."

Alec looked at him and stood his full height, a head shorter than Mole, "I'll have you remember who I am, I am your CO."

He reached out before Mole could blink and held the lizard man against the wall, his hand curled around Mole's neck, "I would have you remember that."

Mole looked at him, "I would have you earn that," he managed to choke out.

They stood like that for a moment and then Alec dropped Mole and strode towards HQ.

&

Dix looked up when Alec came in trailed by Mole who was rubbing his neck.

"We've got a package," Dix announced. Luke stood next to him going over computer printouts.

"Is it hot?" Joshua asked innocently. Mole and Alec looked at Joshua. Joshua looked at Dix seriously.

"Ummm, no," Dix said slowly, "We scanned it with everything that we have. Its not showing signs of any kind of ammo or living tissue. It is also isn't transmitting, moving, containing any kind of electric current or beeping."

Alec put up his hands for Dix to go on, "So what is it?"

"It is a ton of metal and fabric," Dix told him.

"It's a gift."

He hadn't heard her voice in two days and it seemed alien. He was so used to being the one person in the room who knew exactly what she was thinking. Now she seemed far away, further away than she had when she left. The last time that he had felt separate from her was when he was thrown into her cell. She always surprised him, but some part of him knew how she would react to him.

Now he didn't know where he stood.

Alec stood at ease and faced her, his face betraying nothing.

"You know what this is?" he asked her in his best professional voice.

Max nodded happily, "It is a gift from Sasha Spielberg. She's the daughter of Stephen Spielberg. She heard of the kids who have never seen movies and she sent us a large screen, a projector and tons of movies. We're getting Jaws, ET, the Indiana Jones Chronicles, Hook, and Jurassic Park."

"How do you know that?" Alec asked.

"I just got a transmission from the guys outside. I had Dix run some tests. It looks like what it is supposed to be. We've tested it for everything it's a peace offering."

"And we should trust them why?" Mole asked. "There could be bugs or explosives or.."

Max put up her hand, "We've checked. We know the technology better than them. There is nothing there. Its just a movie projector from the seventies and a ton of movies, its for the kids. I talked with Sasha, this is on the up and up. She wants to help us. There are lots of people out there who are curious and want to help us. I know we could get screwed so I'm being very careful, but when groups like Amnesty International get involved I have to take it seriously. It may not seem like it from the yokels outside, but there are some people out there on our side. Alec's speech made a difference."

"I don't buy it," Mole said.

"That is why I ordered one of those old fashioned film monitors, nothing digital. We can check on it, we can keep checking on it to make sure that nothing is being transmitted."

Alec listened to them bicker. He knew that it was stupid to accept gifts from the enemy, but he scanned the information that Dix gave him. Infrared, echo scan, everything down to the chemical make up of the contents of the van had been analyzed. It looked as if there was nothing but metal and celluloid.

"Lets do it," Alec said tossing aside the papers.

Mole looked up startled, "What, you know that this is the oldest trick in the book."

"What are they going to do?" Alec asked lightly, "Storm us, bomb us, give us shiny pictures to watch so they can sneak in the back door? We're soldiers, we're always ready. We don't let down our guard, but maybe we can have fun every once in awhile. It isn't as if setting up a heap of old technology is going to let them know anything about us that their hoverdrones will show."

Mole looked between the two of them, this time he didn't have the deciding vote. He threw up his hands in disgust, "Fine if they storm us and we all die I'm blaming you."

Max smiled happily, "The kids will love this."

"Do you think that it will give them flashbacks of Psy-Ops," Mole pointed out, still miffed about being out voted.

"I know that gigantic dinosaurs and little aliens do make me thing of my sojourn there," Alec commented dryly.

Max was already going over plans with Luke. They were planning on putting the screen in the multipurpose field that had been the site of a dance party and a cage fight. She didn't look back at him, but he was sure that she was acutely aware of where he was.

Alec stood a little way away from her. When she finally went to go to her office he followed.

She stood with her back to him when he entered. He closed the door behind him. She exhaled and could feel him.

She still didn't know how to do this. She was mad at him for what she had heard about the cage fight. She also was a bit afraid of him, she didn't know what to do with the intensity of his emotions, or the intensity of what she thought was going through him. she was so afraid to be wrong. She was so afraid that this was going to hurt if she let him in. She had spent years at keeping people at arms length. She didn't want to be disappointed again.

"Mole said there was an uprising, you got into a fight," she said flatly, not believing a word of the lie. She figured that she would deal with what she could see and touch before she leant herself to emotions. She could deal with his bumps and bruises before she could deal with the emotions that lead to them. Logan's definition of 'tangibility' struck her. This was touch, this was right now.

She turned and looked at him, "Let me see."

He looked at her, she kept her back turned she held her breath, hoping that he wouldn't leave, she needed this. She could feel him watching her back, but eventually he complied. He groaned and removed his shirt.

After a moment she turned around. She looked at the lean solid body which had been expressly made for agile mobility. He had been made to move quickly and with power. Even the marr of color on his skin couldn't diminish that.

She looked calmly at the mass of bruises. Her face remained impassive, but her eyes watered.

"If you've been an idiot you look as if you paid for it," she said simply.

Alex couldn't even begin to decipher the words coming out of her mouth. He could speak seven languages, but he couldn't understand any meaning here. Everything could mean a million things. He didn't know what the hell to say.

So he went for directness.

"What are you doing here?" he asked bluntly realizing too late that it came out far to harsh.

"This is my home," she replied taken aback.

Alec looked at her startled, "I thought that you were moving on."

"You told me to move on, I think I have a say in it. You need me here."

"You had other options. Don't you have something better to do?"

"Do you have to question everything I do?" she asked angrily.

"Yes," he yelled back, "When it has something to do with me."

She glared, "What makes you think for a second that my being here has something to do with you? I asked people to stay and I'm not leaving them."

"Great we get Max the martyr. You freed them on the world and you asked them to stay so they're your responsibility. Do you ever get tired of hearing yourself whine."

"I'm not being a maryr don't you think I actually care about these people. What aobut you, you're only here because you have to be. The grandstanding and the midnight runs, you do it for glory. You don't give a fuck about these people."

He simmered. He stood bruised and aching, but she would not see him flinch. He stood before her, "You don't get to tell me what I care about. You don't get to decide why I am here."

She stood her ground and yelled back in his face, "Well good, you don't get to tell my why I'm here."

She pushed her way past him and he stepped aside.

"Go ahead run, that is what you're good at."

Her hand was on the door. She stopped and looked at the bent beam next to the door. She reached a hand up. there was still dried blood.

"Tell me how you got those," she said in a voice so soft it hurt his ears. It was venerable and he knew if she turned around with those wide brown eyes he would be a goner.

He looked down at his chest and forced his muscles to stay up right.

"You're not stupid Maxie," he said.

It was bare bones. There was no pleading, no husky lusty words, no Alec charm. The words were simply words. it was how he spoke to her at night.

She turned, her face now guarded. She knew. Well she had heard things from Gem and Alec had just confirmed everything.

She walked in front of him and lightly touched his chest. He hissed at the contact but he didn't flinch. She ran her fingers over his bumps and bruises and the bandaging over his bruised ribs. She took his hand and looked at the scabbed knuckles.

She looked up at his unblemished face and touched it lightly.

"You are smarter than this," she said with dark eyes.

He let off a dry laugh, "I'm the dumbest man on the face of the earth. They can give a person all the IQ in the world. It doesn't matter. I am the biggest idiot."

He let out a huge sigh and pulled her to him again. This time it wasn't harsh or demanding. It was pretty and sweet. His hand cupped her face and he slowly sunk into her lips. He couldn't stop, he had to touch her. She was enthralled. No one had ever touched her softly, without need or want or demands.

The kiss was home.

But it was also bittersweet.

When he pulled away and started to put on his shirt he didn't look at her. Finally task done he looked up at her his eyes shining, "I don't do drama Maxie. I do action. I can't wait silently until you notice me."

She looked at him and blinked. He didn't get it. She was shocked, but through every night that they had been together he saw it only as one sided.

"I'm not going to do that. I can't. When you left…" he trailed off looking at her taking her in, "I just knew. I can't do subterfuge any more. I escaped from them and I won't do things quietly anymore. I'm done hiding and for you everything is fine as long as it is a secret and you get to control it. I'm not going to play that game."

This wasn't what she expected to hear, but she knew it was coming. Alec wasn't a man of subtleties. He was overwhelming and omnipresent. He looked at her with his green eyes blazing, eyes that read her and made her feel naked inside and out.

Alec turned and left the room, but he kept the door open.

She looked as he opened the door and she was absolutely terrified, but she picked her head up. Some times stepping away from comfortable was the way to go. Alec doing grand gestures was a matter of course. Max knew that if she did a grand gesture it would be shattering.

For a second she contemplated if she was going to do this. She could just go back to the simple way that things were.

But her feet were already out the door.

"Oh Dix," she called out across HQ kind of breathlessly, "I have an addition to your role. I need you to take on daily communication with Eyes Only and Logan. He is going to work in Washington DC for us, that is, if we all approve him. You will still report all his activities to the committee, but you will have the contact and the daily responsibilities. He will still be working with Eyes Only, but he will also be working primarily on our needs. Eyes Only has agreed to take us on as a full time project, if we want that."

No one in HQ looked up, but everyone was still. Her daily or bi-daily meetings with Logan were hours long. She ran when he called and sat in a private room. She was the liaison to Logan and it was a position that she cherished. In order for her to give it up could only mean that she was giving up the only time that she would have with Logan. Something had changed.

No one made a noise, typed or moved paper. Mole's jaw dropped and a cigar landed on the ground. Alec looked at Max, standing at ease, she was looking at him as she spoke.

She stopped in front of Alec, she bit her lip and looked down for a second. She looked up at him.

"Do you want to go with me tonight to see the movie?"

Alec looked at her and whispered inaudibly, "What are you doing?"

She looked steadily at him, biting her lip, begging him not to be stupid, "Action. Doing something I can't control."

He searched her eyes for something and she tried to smile as every second he didn't say anything.

Alec couldn't say anything. This was just unexpected.

She was just about to think that the game was over when he flipped back into some version of Alec.

Alec shrugged in automatic response as if it wasn't painful and as if this was the most natural thing in the world, "Sure."

She smiled, something she was doing more today than she had done in the entire time he had known her.

"Pick me up around seven," she turned before either one of them could change their minds, and Dix followed her, "Okay we need two units and the sniper division in place to pick up the truck. We need a driver and.."

She trailed off as she left the room. Alec turned to watch her, as did the rest of HQ.

Mole walked up behind Alec looking at the closed door.

"Did she just say that she dumped Logan and asked you on a date?" Mole asked.

"I don't remember those words," Alec said turning to Mole.

"It was all undertone. That is what women do," Mole told him.

"And Mole knows this through the ten minutes in his life he as ever spent with a woman," Dix said coming up next to Mole.

Alec whirled on him, "I thought we weren't going to discuss me and Max?"

"I don't want to know about your sex life or your romantic life, what I want to know is if hell froze over. It's a bet and if she just asked you out on a date and the ordinary is out of the picture someone is going to be rolling in it tonight."


	4. Part IV

a/n: Thanks for the reviews. I love this story and I'm glad you do too. On that note this part was hard to write because there is just so much going on. It is actually was shorter and more scenes but then I wasn't happy and I kept writing. The whole thing is a bit longer, but I'm trying to update once a week and this is what I have now.

So hopefull enjoy!!!

Part IV

Alec was reading at alarming speeds in attempt not to think. Unfortunately he could multi-task and as he read over all of the international law for internment and hostage situations his mind wondered.

Unfortunately everyone at Manticore could multitask with the best of them.

"Here is the Geneva convention, outlying embargos and trade during stand offs over ninety days. Also I have multiple entries on universal human rights, and here is everything outlining what is a human, I wouldn't use it unless you want to make that whole pro-life/pro-choice issue take sides on us. We don't need another group to have some reason to protest. We're running out of room out front," Mole said wheeling a cart of print outs, "And if you start dating Max make sure to leave everything away from the office, you can't start ganging up on me."

Alec eyed the stack of papers. There were no books that were viable resources in TC, fortunately post pulse people had started storing important documents electronically again. Unfortunately the printouts were bulky, unwieldy and not cross-listed. Luke and Dix were highlighting important details and Joshua was organizing the piles. Even with Alec's transgenic reading speed and photographic memory, it was highly unlikely that he would have all of the information down pat.

"Hand me the important stuff first, lets see about getting us food and clothing and perhaps some hammer and nails," Alec said with a sight, "We can get into definitions of what exactly constitutes a human in order for us to get unalienable human rights at the next meeting."

He thought for a moment and then looked at Mole, "And it's not a date and even if it were, we've been ganging up on you for months now anyways. You just can't suddenly decide our relationship change is a reason to suddenly start bitching and complaining."

Mole glared at him, "Please refrain from using human rights when you meet with the negotiator, there are those of us who take offense because we will never be considered human. And if you can be bitchy and pout in a way that gets all of TC to watch your mental breakdown I can do whatever I want."

Alec didn't look up from what he was reading, "Okay Ill give you one free veto for my one free mental breakdown but most likely you will always be on the winning side of our arguments. If you've noticed we disagree a lot."

He looked up and smirked at Mole, "Don't worry about the human thing, I was going to call PETA to make sure that your asses had fair and equal treatment."

The four transhumans stopped what they were doing and stared at Alec. He raised his hands in protest, "Just kidding, you know all of us freaks are in this together."

Luke plopped a stack of paper in front of him, "Read sections four, thirteen, and fifteen. And I feel the need to tell you that our director won't like it if we tell you how badly you treat us. She might rescind her date."

Dix and Mole managed to cover snickers.

Alec began scanning the pages, "We're all very amused by the very charming witting teasing but lets remember that it isn't a date."

Then Alec pushed back the piles in disgust, "This stuff is such crap, its like if people decide to write in big words then they don't actually have to say anything or be grammatically correct."

"Must be a human thing," Dix muttered, not really hurt, but he loved egging on Alec, "And it sounded like a date. She did dump Logan."

Alec reached for a freshly highlighted stack of papers detailing the correct procedure for embargo, as well as a few trespassing laws on US soil, "We don't know she dumped Logan and where the hell are the zoning laws and squatter's rights for the city of Seattle."

Dix stood up and brought him new stacks of papers, "There technically is some good stuff about squatting legally on inhabitable land and she got the cure and then came back here and then canceled her only contact with him? They're over."

Alec looked at the new information, "Do I need to read building codes or can that wait? And I'm not sure they're over, they never seem to be over. Plus isn't there some sort of period of break up?"

"Don't read the building codes," Mole said reading over Alec's shoulder, "I can have someone else read over those and make sure that we're up to speed on those so at least they can't kick us out for endangering children. We're going to have to send some teams out for some major building supplies. And Max has had four months of break up, just please go out on a date, get laid so we quite possibly never have to discuss these things again."

"We should probably get building supplies from an outside resource. We don't want them to know that we're working in here. I know we can get some stuff from the Russians, they'll give us good prices and they can probably deliver the drywall and lumber," Luke said practically, "And he might want to take awhile and make sure that they don't rush into anything. We need Max here, not rushing after that ordinary."

"No the Russians suspect us, correctly I believe, of stealing some of their drug money, I'd try the Italians first," Dix pointed out, "And I think that Max and Alec have been dancing around this subject for long enough. Logan is over."

Alec stared at the three of them incredulously, "Have you all been reading Cosmo? Do you have fifteen tips to a greater orgasm? Do you know that we're about ready to face what could quite possibly be the turning point in the existence of transgenics and you guys are sitting around discussing Max and me?"

Dix and Luke had the state of mind to look sheepish.

Mole just grinned, "Be sure to quote me correctly in the history books."

"You guys are worse than a bunch of women."

"What we say doesn't matter. What Alec wants is what matters." Joshua asked quietly.

For the first time in hours the room was quiet.

There was a knock at the door and Max appeared.

"They're here and ready to be lead into the meetinghouse," she looked at Alec and walked to the desk he was sitting at, "Are you ready? Have you prepared and gone over everything enough?"

Alec looked at her and smiled. She might not get the double meaning there, but both of her questions were valid right now.

"I don't know Maxie, there is a lot of stuff."

She looked up at him and smiled, somehow she seemed to sense an undercurrent, "What I do is try not to complicate things. Just keep it simple."

He held her eyes and found reassurance.

"Simple," he echoed.

She bit her lip, "Just keep it simple."

"Got it," he said softly watching how her lips curled into a smile.

She shook her head and hid her smile as she handed him his jacket and held it up so as he would not have to strain his stiff muscles. He stood up and let her help put on the leather coat. When he had it on she adjusted his lapels.

"Just remember that this is the first meeting. Figure him out and don't let him try to railroad you or anything."

She was going to ramble on, but he put his hand on her shoulder, "Maxie, I know what to do. I'm good with people and even better at reading them. Nothing all that crazy will happen today. I'll get the info and bring it back. I will also act out the entire conversation in pantomime when I get back so you don't loose a single nuance."

She slapped him lightly and he winced at the pain that just a light touch inflicted.

"Just don't piss him off," she said.

Alec shrugged, "When have I ever pissed anyone off."

Max glared, "Right now is coming to mind. Don't make me kill you."

She turned and walked out of the room. At the doorway she looked over her shoulder at him.

"Is your friend whipped, take our Cosmo test on page thirty-five," Mole muttered.

Alec looked at the retreating figure of Max and then he looked at Joshua.

"What the hell am I supposed to be doing?"

Joshua nodded, "Well forget Max now, negotiate with army guy and then ask Max if it is a date."

"So much simpler said than done," Alec muttered, meaning just about everything.

&

Max left the room and leaned against the wall. Her heart was pounding. She was trying so hard to act like normal, she couldn't really remember what normal was. She had taken a big leap and she had no idea what was going on.

"Hey Max."

Max looked up and saw Gem coming towards her with a suitcase in one hand and her baby in a blanket tied around her shoulders. The

baby, Maxine slept quietly while Gem went around her daily business.

"Hey Gem," Max said as some of the inhabitants of TC walked past whispering.

She observed them and groaned. Gem watched amused.

"News travels quickly in this place," Gem remarked, apparently already have heard of the incident in HQ.

Max looked at her watch, "It has been three hours."

Gem shrugged, "Ahh, you missed twelve years of a highly organized information net. We don't even have to speak in order to pass info. They didn't let us talk much and they really didn't let us socialize, but we needed to know who was being punished and what others had learned on missions. We know how to pass along info."

Max's jaw dropped, "Are you telling me that besides being elite killing machines you guys are also the most sophisticated gossip network in the world?'

"Yep, the world is doomed. First we infiltrate their computers and military, next their weekly tabloids, "Gem said shifting the suitcase and the bundle of baby, "You want to get away and let things pass?"

Max looked at the herds of people. She should be going and making sure that everything was going okay with the movie set up, but she knew Dix could handle it. She should also take car of the daily TC business that had been piling up, but things were on a bit of a hold, waiting for the news from Alec.

"Sure," she shrugged, "If Alec can take off two days I can take off two hours, where are we going.

Gem smiled, "We're going to go be snipers."

&

Alec walked the long walk away from Terminal City. Once again he walked to the barricade. This time Max wasn't there.

Max, always thinking of Max.

To say that he was confused was an understatement. He didn't know what her motives were, he didn't know what was going on. He remembered a tale that they told children about a man who had slept for a long time. When he woke up everything was different.

That is how Alec felt. The whole world had changed in a few days and that was something that he wasn't used to. After four months of a regular schedule biding his time until something happened, something had happened and he didn't know how to assimilate the new day.

He stopped just short of the daylight. He closed his eyes and breathed in. The organized solider mind kicked in. He processed his priorities. First in front of him was a face-to-face meeting with the army.

He was worried, as was everyone. He was worried that this would be a double cross that the army was going to shoot him in the head. He was worried that someone in the crowd would try to shoot him in the head. He was worried that he would screw up and Max would shoot him in the head.

He registered his concerns and checked off the safety procedures. First he had to trust that he wasn't important enough to shoot. Killing the transgenics one by one was almost worthless, and he hoped that the army figured that killing him wasn't going to get them anywhere besides a horde of angry transgenics. Second, there were snipers on the roofs and hopefully they could protect and warn him if something in the crowd was coming at him. He wore the com in his ear, waiting for the go ahead. He had his people behind him, no matter that the people on the other side of the barricades were screaming for blood. Thirdly, Max.

Max would have to wait, because he couldn't think of her now.

So he looked around for a distraction from his head.

Mara and Hal stood behind him, waiting for their go ahead from both the snipers and from the army outside.

"So you guys do much work outside," he asked conversationally, trying for the hundredth time today not to think.

Mara looked at Hal and Hal looked straight ahead.

"I was stationed as battle strategian in the Middle East for three years. I returned to Manticore thirty one days before the incineration," Hal answered stiffly.

"Really," Alec said, "I was in the Middle East undercover for a year. Were you part of the Zeta project where they put transgenics in with civilians?"

"Affirmative," Hal replied.

"Really?" Alec smiled, "I had some good times. The ordinaries were pretty fun over there. One guy mentioned it was like Spring Break, just with no ocean, more guns, and a lot more alcohol."

"I fulfilled my mission parameters," the large man said briskly.

Alex raised his eyebrows and nodded, "Well I didn't mean for you to get all personal I was just making conversation. Just wondering what you were up to before this whole shindig."

Hal looked at him. The large man typically looked vacant but when Hal looked at Alec his eyes were sharp and clear.

"Permission to speak freely," Hal asked, making it sound more like a challenge.

Alec looked around, "Hal we're not standing on tradition any more. I want you to speak freely."

"I'm sorry that my demeanor is less than intimate. Would you like me to say that I was a member of the army. That there is at least one person out there on the other side of the barricade that I had basic training when I was undercover as an ordinary. Would you like me to say that I spent three years with the same men who were fighting the good fight and after three years I had to lead them into a mission that we were not gong to live through knowing that I was going to walk away just fine. My subsequent return was plagued by nightmares of them screaming for me to help them. I too have had some vacation time in Psy-Ops. Sorry if I'm a little stiff, but they managed to make me really hesitant about becoming intimate."

Alec bit his lip, he knew of units who had gone through the burn missions, the ones where transgenics lead them into traps in order to gain support. He knew the mental wounds were agonizing. For most transgenics it had been the first mission to the outside and for all of them it hadn't been easy to make friends, only to turn on them. Alec had been lucky he had been recalled without having to put any one in danger. Others had been less lucky.

"Well that was pretty personal. I'd just like to say I'm sorry for your loss. That won't be happening under my watch, and feel free to ignore any Psy-Ops programming, I know I have. About being intimate," Alec said trying to make light of the situation, "Maybe we should just have a drink sometime and see where it leads."

Hal pressed his lips together and at first Alec thought that the expression was in scorn. However as he turned to Mara he heard Hal mutter under his breath.

"I can drink you under the table."

Alec bit back a grin, hearing something human and familiar in the tone, and then his grin took on the charming demeanor it as he looked at Mara. She looked back and raised an eyebrow..

"It won't work," she said before he opened his mouth.

"What won't work?" Alec asked taken aback.

She looked up at him with complete confidence, "That smile."

Alec thought for a moment and the snickered, "Great they send me out with a big guy who wants to get intimate with me and a woman who doesn't like guys smiling at her. This is a wonderful start. I guess you two have some stellar qualifications or is this Mole's idea of a joke?"

Hal looked at him and repeated blandly, "I orchestrated the outcome of the Hallisten project, mission parameters were to create a sympathy for the army's occupation of the oilfields there. She was the personal bodyguard to the wife o Richard Sandoval."

Alec nodded at the information. Hallisten was quite possibly one of the biggest turning points in the war, he had lead men to one of the bloodiest fights imaginable. If this man almost single handedly was responsible for the mission he deserved respect, as did the person who was able to keep Sandoval's wife alive. Sandoval was targeted by FBI, CIA, and a whole host of other organizations and family members were elemental to sending messages.

These two were more than adequately trained. Mara knew protection and Hal knew procedure and planning. Alec began to feel some pride and confidence in the people who he was speaking for. As second rate their accommodations are and despite the lack of anything resembling modern electronics or decent firepower they were still second to none in technology. They were technology.

They were just technology learning to do the basics such as laundry, cooking and building things. Manticore really dropped the ball on wide range teaching of practical skills. It was mostly the slightly inhuman looking X-3 and X-4 who knew the daily skills and they loved to teach the higher X series how to scrub floors.

However despite their slightly backwards way they were pretty capable.

"Refugee army of transgenics my ass," Alec muttered straightening his leather coat, "We're a well organized highly trained machine."

"Great he's getting cocky," Mara muttered, "He's gong to get us all shot."

"What are you complaining about, he's big enough for you to use as a shield," Hal pointed out logically, "I'm the logical target while you get away."

Alec nodded, "I really feel that we have bonded and the love abounds. These last few minutes have been touching."

Mara smiled with faux sweetness, "We're right behind you oh great leader."

At that moment a soft voice spoke in Alec's ear and he returned to a more serious mode.

"Time to go. Lets go not get me killed."

&

Gem looked through the cite of the gun, taking in the path that Alec would take. She examined every point and then she put the gun down and reassuringly put her hands on the blanket-covered child secured at her chest.

Max looked amazed at her. This woman was a contradiction, but it seemed so natural. For some reason Gem systematically and naturally scanned the area that she would be responsible for and then she checked her daughter's diaper, taking time to squeeze the little hand of the sleeping infant. Gem cupped the back of her daughter's head and caught Max's amazed look.

"What?" Gem asked softly as not to wake the child.

Max shrugged, "I don't know how the ordinaries are ever going to accept us. I have trouble with it just watching you check the cites as efficiently as taking care of your child. A baby and a gun are so different, but they both look at home in your hands."

Gem laughed and looked down at both objects and then at herself, "I'm five foot with my boots on and I barely weigh a hundred pounds even with the baby weight. I'm no one's idea of a mother or a soldier."

"But you seem to be fine with both of them."

Gem shrugged, "I was trained from birth to fight. I can hit a target at five hundred feet in a raging storm. The gun looks comfortable in my hands because I have had it there since I could walk. They call me a killer out there, but I don't feel much like a killer. I mean don't get me wrong, I will put enough bullets in whatever tries to hurt my daughter to make us safe, but I don't feel a desire to hurt anyone just for fun.'

She looked down at her child and looked back up at Max, her hair floating in the breeze, "I don't know if I can be a mother, I mean how the hell would I know about being a mother, I was made in a lab and raised by bully drill instructors and psychopathic handlers. But I don't sweat it because when I heard Manticore burned down I suddenly realized that I didn't have to be good at the things that they made me be good at. I can figure out what I like and I can learn new things. I don't know what I'm doing, but that is okay, I now get to find out."

Gem adjusted the com in her ear.

"Alec is about to come out," Gem said adjusting her baby. She looked up at Max, "Can you hold her for a bit?"

Wordlessly Max took the baby and held her uncomfortably. Gem laughed and adjusted the baby in Max's arms, "Hold the head and relax, I promise that she won't detonate, although some of the things in her diaper are pretty toxic."

Max shook her head as Gem went back to looking through the cite, "I'm on the roof of Terminal City holding a baby sitting next to a sniper."

Gem snorted, "Yeah they didn't teach us how to deal with this back at Manticore, but this is so much more cool we get to find out."

Max looked at the sleeping baby, a child with an X Series genetics and sans barcode. They were far enough away from the crowds that it was pretty quiet, the sun was shining and the breeze was blowing. Max felt suddenly at peace despite the unrest. She always had found solace in high places.

Next to her Gem shifted and then let out a low whistle, "That man down there is a piece of Manticore excellence."

Unconsciously Max leaned over the edge of the roof where she could make out the figure of Alec making his way to the trailer followed by Mara and Hal. She watched him move, confident sure and damned sexy.

Gem laughed again at the look on Max's face. She quickly unscrewed the cite and handed it to Max, "As Director you might want to watch your CO, but feel free to do it for personal reasons. I think there are girls in the crowd who would jump in front of a bullet."

Max looked at the cite in her hand, "Don't you need this."

Gem tapped her eyes, "Nah, they gave me hawk eyes. The cite is just for show anyway."

With the baby carefully adjusted in her arms Max looked through the cite. There were a few girls in the crowd staring holes into Alec. Alec of course stood tall and looked straight ahead. Then for a second he hesitated, without a searching glance he looked directly where she was. His lips curled into a smile and she shook his head and gave her a little nod.

Max bit her lip and waved slightly.

"Hey Director," Gem whispered, "Do you mind not blowing my cover and also putting my child in harms way."

Max looked down guiltily and managed to be more covert. She looked over at Gem who was smiling.

"You're one lucky woman," Gem said in honest admiration. Then her posture straightened and she motioned for Max to get down. A procession of the army guard came forward, following what she supposed was their liaison. There was pomp and circumstance, but Max looked down at the baby while the opening ceremonies began.

Then she looked at Alec. Watching him was nothing new, seeing him was becoming a hobby. He was just so good at so many things she had never noticed. His stance, his way with people, his leadership of those in TC was exceptional.

And he definitely looked good doing it.

She smiled.

Maybe this would be okay.

"Max," Gem said holding the com to her ear, "Luke is looking for you. I think it is time for you to rejoin the world below."

Max sighed, "Well I guess I should go."

She carefully handed baby Maxine back to her mother.

"I'll watch over your boy," Gem said quietly.

Max heard the question in her voice, Gem was waiting for denial.

"Go ahead and ask," Max said.

"So what is going on with you and Alec," Gem finally asked.

Max thought for a moment and then her face slowly split into a grin, "I don't know, but I'm looking forward to finding out."

&

The meeting spot was an abandoned trailer on the edge of TC. It was lead lined so there was no way to transmit once inside of it. The only two people who would know what was going on were the two people who were in the trailer.

Alec stood sternly looking at the man who would be their intermediary. The man looked back at them.

When formal introductions were made the two men exited their bodyguards and went into an enclosed place. Prying eyes were left to speculate.

&

The door closed and Alec looked at the young Captain Nathan Ross. The army man looked at Chief Officer of the Transgenics Alec McDowell.

"What are your demands?" the Captain asked.

"Food, Guns, Ammo, peace on earth, erasure to mans inhumanity to man and transgenic," the CO answered.

The Captain thought, "I have a list of sundry food stuffs and ragged clothing that I can give to you as a peace offering, I'll let you have whatever you can win from me in poker back to your people."

Alec raised an eyebrow.

"I seem to think that there is something already owed to me," the transgenic CO said seriously.

The Captain held up a bottle of eighteen-year-old scotch, "I borrowed a hundred that night in the brothel, this should cover it."

Alec's face split into a grin and both men stepped forward into a manly hug.

"I thought you died, what was that an undercover mission," Nate said pulling back and looking at him.

"That was a way for me to disappear. Do you think I needed to be in that desert any longer. My tan was perfect."

Nate snorted, "You missed some great fun when you left. Barns sang karaoke in tribute to you and Biggs, I take it he was one too."

Alec nodded.

"You sons of bitches. You played us, you did a good job man."

"We were trained to be the best, from target practice to bar runs."

Nate smiled, "Having you guys under my command was a headache for me, I have never come closer to laughing my ass of when reprimanding my men as when you and Biggs showed up from that bar dressed in nothing but blue latex paint."

"Have I ever thanked you for letting us sit in the sun for two hours while you chewed us out?"

"No, I'm still waiting for that."

"Yeah, don't be holding your breath. What are you doing here," Alec asked.

Nate shrugged, "It's a long story. I saw you make that speech. I knew that it looked like you, but you go by another name now. However after listening to you for ten minutes I was sure."

"How," Alec asked, "You must have read the Intel that we were cloned."

Nate snickered, "Yes, but your speech pattern is one of a kind and there is that look in your eyes when you think no one is looking."

"I always knew you had a thing for me.

Nate smacked him lightly and Alec tried not to flinch though his muscles were hurting.

"I couldn't help but know that you had gone through some tough shit," Nate continued, "You might have lied about the details to your story, but I knew that your past wasn't pretty. Hearing the gritty truth out there gave me chills. I figured if you had gone through half the shit that I thought you had you needed someone non judgmental. I made some phone calls and got this gig."

Alec looked at him skeptically, "And they just gave you this 'gig'?"

Nate shrugged, "What can I say, I've got connections, I'll let you and your super friends figure out what that is."

"Right that'll take us something like ten minutes," Alec said rolling his eyes.

They sat at the table and Nate began to deal the cards.

"You know I always knew there was something about you and Biggs that didn't add up," Nate said, "That time in Khakastan when you broke out of those handcuffs…"

"I still say they were rusted," Alec said feigning innocence.

"That time the Sultan's son slipped you poison and you had a mild case of food poisoning instead of deadness,"

"He must have miss dosed."

"That stuff that Lola and the girls said."

Alec smiled, "That stuff was all true my friend, all true."

Nate moved to open the bottle and poured two glasses of whiskey, "You know Lola now runs her own cartel. She's a force to be reckoned with."

"She always was man, she always was," Alec said smiling clinking his glass to Nate's.

"So let me guess," Nate said as they took seats, "When we were doing covert ops in the Middle East you weren't really a newbie for the special ops team."

"Sorry mate, I had fifteen years of training and two practical experience, but if it makes you feel better I had more fun in that year than any since."

Nate and Alec exchanged a look, memories passing wordlessly between them.

"The after hours bar."

"The all service stewardesses on the commuter planes."

"The race challenge we had with the locals."

They smiled.

"We had some good times," Alec nodded.

"So where's Biggs?" Nate asked.

Alec got quiet, "They strung him up."

"Those guys."

Alec nodded.

In silence they toasted.

Nate dealt, "I think that I'm going to harass protesters in the next few days."

"More power to you."

&

Max stood between Dix and Luke. They all had their arms crossed and were looking straight ahead. Mole sat on a nearby table with a very large gun.

Luke took a hesitant look to Mole, "And you brought the gun why?"

Mole glared at him, "Well let me see, Alec is meeting outside the walls and suddenly I get the call that there is an emergency. Sorry if I took precautions."

"Just like a man," Max said still looking in front of her rubbing her back, "You had to bring your big gun."

"I'm sorry," Luke said humbly, "I just didn't know what to do."

They all looked at the film projector, which presently was nothing but a hunk of metal and some plastic.

"How many smarty transgenics does it take to work a film projector," Mole observed.

"I'm so sorry," Dix said, "I must have missed the class on archaic audio visual devices."

Luke tilted his head, "Do you know that it doesn't even have a microchip?"

Max sighed and began speaking spacily, "There is nothing online, no instruction book?"

Luke shook his head.

"There is this girl, Fix-It who might be able to fix this," Max said thoughtfully rubbing her lower back, "She came in a month ago with Bugler, the kid who was out front with Alec at the big speech. You can probably find her with the reconnaissance X-6. One of the unit leaders is named Zero his second is Bullet and there is a girl named Ralph. Find one of them you have them all, they're family."

Luke watched her with concern as she seemed to ramble as she scratched her back, but left to find them.

Mole looked at Max.

"Max," he said slowly, "You're blinking more than usual."

She nodded, and acted like she hadn't heard him completely.

"Max," Mole said seriously, putting down his gun, "You're not so steady on your feet."

Max nodded again.

Mole stood up next to her and touched her arm. She was warm to his touch. She looked up at him.

"My back is on fire," she said with a sigh.

And collapsed in Mole's arms.

&


	5. Part Va

&

"I thought that there would be more laws and negotiating in this," Alec said discarding two cards.

Nate shrugged, "I thought that you would be a better poker player, what with the super human abilities. I'm kind of disappointed in government technology."

"Hey just because I'm transgenic doesn't mean that I'm the best poker player, we were actually enhanced to be soldiers not gamblers. Counting cards can only get you so far," Alec said gruffly.

Nate snorted.

"Okay fine it doesn't help that you have the pulse of a metronome and you are really good at this," Alec mumbled.

"I don't see why your complaining, you have won two cases of crackers, many boxes of peanut butter, and tons of soup, not to mention the coup of winning the Hostess cakes, good bluffing by the way, don't you think that will be enough for everybody?"

Alec studied his cards and sighed, "It won't work."

"What," Nate said innocently.

The years had made him forget where Nate really excelled. The reason that their squadron was always okay was the simple fact that Nate always knew what was going on everywhere. He was amazing at talking and getting the smallest detail out of a person. Nate could gage the size of a covert force by the amount of food it took to keep them alive. He could get the smallest most random details to add up to a total picture.

Alec had done good dogging him, but he was tired of the games.

Alec glared at him, "Nate you are excellent at intel, however I'm better. Just let it go."

Nate smiled and discarded one card, "So Alec, how are the transgenic women?"

Alec coughed as he drank some of his scotch. He had forgotten Nate's other secret weapon, he loved changing the topic to put off an opponent.

Alec was able to recover quickly, "They're everything and more."

Nate noticed something in his voice and smiled, "What's her name."

"Stop that," Alec said folding his cards and conceding a crate of canned food and a box of evaporated mik.

"Stop what?" Nate asked with faux innocence.

"Stop knowing everything," Alec said shuffling the cards, "You always knew everything. If I didn't know better I would say you're psychic."

"Nah, just really observant," Nate said dryly looking at Alec.

Alec narrowed his eyes, "You're observant and manipulative and you didn't just get this job because of connections. You're damned good at this and you know it."

Nate smiled slyly, looking at his hand, "If you give me her name I'll throw in chips, salsa, and guacamole, plus pop corn for your movie night. In addition to that I'll add blankets and first aid kids courtesy of my girlfriend who believes that you all are not receiving your proper humane rights."

"There isn't one," Alex said tersely, he had dealt with enough men giving advice today.

Nate thought for a moment looking for a hole in that statement, "Good call, you officially are numbers. Give me her designation and I will attempt to have legal recognition of names instead of numbers."

Alec thought for a moment. Nate wasn't anyone's idea of stupid or allowing things to slip. One step closer to identifying themselves as citizens would be to be named. Names gave one identity. If they could be legally named and not numbered that would give them status, it would add to their claim to humanity and citizenship.

With one name he could make inroads that they hadn't considered yet. Nate was tough, but he was also helpful.

"Max," Alex said slowly, "We use names now."

"Is it serious?" Nate said folding giving Alec back the evaporated milk.

Alex reached to shuffle.

"I want strong legal punishment of those who harm transgenics," Alec said, "Penalties on par with those who participate in hate crimes, same as human."

Nate smiled, "I will push for full prosecution of anyone who in anyway harms a transgenic, and I will throw in added penalties for harming anyone under the age of sixteen."

Alec smiled, this wasn't technical political negotiation. This was barroom bidding.

"She's something else."

"I just gave you full prosecution," Nate pointed out, "I need more than that."

"She just dumped her boyfriend."

"You're in," Nate said nodding approvingly, "So is this going to be like a one girl deal."

Alec sighed, "I can barely manage her. We have a whole population to take care of and we're one step away from genocide. I don't really have time for a harem."

"You're getting soft man," Nate said smirking.

Nate looked down at his hand, "I could throw in diapers if you tell me how many of those non-humanoid things you have. Those are what the people are most afraid of."

Alec shook his head, while they needed diapers desperately with two more births last night, but that was too much to give. He didn't want to give him any information quite yet. He was in a loose/loose/loose situation. In one light he could give the number of transhumans, which would be bad and telling and Max would kill him. In another light he could let on that there were babies in the compound which would put them in danger. In another light they could loose the diapers and the new mothers were looking for diapers.

He swore silently that he would never tell the women.

"Sorry we don't need diapers."

Nate looked at him and tilted his head he had already gotten the information that he needed, "Take them anyways they're super absorbent, you can use them to cover leaks."

Negotiation was working well.

Alec exited the trailer first.

He stood somberly at attention while he waited for Captain Nathan Ross. The Captain came and stood across from Alec. Neither man betrayed a single emotion. Nate nodded to Alec and in surprising move he saluted the young transgenic. This was done purposefully and in the eyes of the television cameras and the protesters.

Alec didn't blink and lifted his hands in a return salute.

It was almost as if they had planned it.

Alec turned towards Terminal City and Nate turned towards his jeep. Hal and Mara followed Alec into the dark recesses of the entryway of TC. Nate pulled away.

When he was free of the sight of the outside world Alec's face broke into a smile. He kissed Mara on the cheek and looked at Hal for a second and then shrugged and gave him a kiss on the cheek too.

Mara pulled away from him, Hal looked at him skeptically.

"What was that," Mara said slowly, "Sir," she added after a second as if to remind both of them that it wasn't quite the response that he needed to have.

Hal shrugged, "He succeeded."

Alec grinned, "I got us food, medical stuff, and blankets."

"Great," Mara said rolling her eyes, "Don't we already have those?"

Alec sighed, "You really don't get the concept of negotiating."

Mara glared at him, "Say it slowly maybe I'll get it."

Hal put up his hand. Alec looked up and saw Toby coming again.

"Hey Toby, more whisky?" Alec asked.

Hal shook his head slowly and took in the gait of the boy, "Something is wrong."

Toby looked up slowly, "Alec, they need you in the infirmary."

Alec blinked and shrugged his shoulders, not knowing what was going on, "Why, what's wrong?"

Toby looked up, questioningly at Hal. Hal inhaled and looked at Alec. There could be only one thing that would need Alec's attention in the clinic. Alec was thinking of his success, he was thinking of all the good things happening. He wasn't thinking of all the aspects.

Hal was.

"Its Max," Hal said.

Toby didn't manage to get the look of gratefulness on his face before Alec was gone.

&

Alec reached the infirmary.

Max was on the bed that he had most recently occupied. She laid sprawled out on her stomach. Her back was exposed from the waist up.

His first thought was that she was so small. He often forgot that even when she was in his bed at night. Her attitude and bravado made her seem bigger than her physical stature, plus she always seemed to steal the blankets. He knew that he had thought the hospital bed small when he was in it, but she was laying on it, the gray blankets that they had covered her lower half with seemed to engulf her tiny form.

Those thoughts came first because the other thoughts didn't seem to make any sense.

His eyes didn't seem able to be able to feed his brain enough data.

Her white back was covered with runes. She looked like someone had transcribed an ancient text onto her back. They were dark black against her white skin. Each rune was slightly swollen and tinged with an angry red.

Alec looked at her. Her dark lashes rested on her cheeks and her face was contorted in pain.

"Maxie," he whispered.

He walked closer to her. She remained still. The doctor and his assistant looked up at Alec, but they didn't say anything. They watched him approach her. He looked at her small form, barely breathing. A look of confusion, he hesitantly reached out a hand and smoothed away a strand of hair away from her face. His hand trailed down her neck and approached her back.

"I wouldn't do that," a gruff voice said.

Alec jumped away from her and stood at attention. Mole stood at he doorway and chomped on his cigar. Mole looked at him and took the measure of the kid before him. Mole had seen these kids trained from afar and he knew the substance of their training. He had watched the results of the training as they went on missions. Recently he had watched the kids and the substance of character, some were lost and some were amazingly adaptive.

For months he had watched this specific kid, but he didn't know which way he would go.

"Her back is sensitive," Mole said slowly, gauging his reaction, "Those marks are coming back and this time they're not gently appearing. They're like tattoos on ordinaries. She just got her entire back tattooed with very sharp needles. Her vitals are fine, but we think she passed out from the pain."

Alec didn't look at her, he stood at attention and looked at Mole. Every part of him wanted to look at her. Every part of him wanted to crawl into bed and wait for her to wake up.

Mole noted this wondering if that is what he was going to do.

"What have we ascertained," Alec said, pulling himself away from her sleeping body with as much command and conviction as he could muster.

Mole nodded in appreciation, "She's stable. The runes have returned. Right now we are doing research on what caused them and what they mean. We're having problems though. We don't have enough resources to figure them out."

"Did you call Logan?" Alec said keeping down any emotion from his voice.

Mole smiled around the cigar, "No sir, we were waiting for orders."

Alec inhaled and thought for a moment. This wasn't something that was haphazard and grandstanding. It hit him all the sudden that this wasn't just about the look in her eyes when she looked at him because he was all in charge, this was something else, this was real. He realized that he had responsibilities.

"How is the movie thing going?" Alec asked, for lack of anything else to say, trying to figure out what he was going to go.

"Its going," Mole told him, "There is a little blonde girl working on it. She said it would be done in time."

Alec nodded, "And do you have the census."

Mole shrugged, "We started it."

Alec heard her heart monitor and attempted not to cringe.

He ignored her for a moment. She was okay right now. There were other things to get done.

When she had left a few days ago he realized that there is something in this world besides his own desires. It was something that he tried to deny. He had tried to over come his training, to believe that Alec or 494 was all that mattered in this world and that the others were nothing. He wanted to believe for so long that there was nothing that Manticore had made that meant anything to him on the outside world. He wanted to believe that nothing that he been taught was of any importance.

He was trained in recent years to be a solo assassin.

However he had been part of a unit for the first eighteen years of his life.

And she had given that back to him.

Duty.

Duty came first.

As long as she was breathing and stable, duty could come first.

"Okay take two units and meet the trucks that are coming," Alec said, "We'll need full checks on the contents."

Mole nodded and appreciation, "You got some things out of negotiation?"

Alec tried a smile that was reminiscent of his smirk, "I'm good, and we can lighten up on out missions for food. I trust the guy who is sending the trucks, but lets not take too much on faith. A little precaution is always good. Make sure that there is nothing on or in the truck to blow us up and there are no hazards, bio or poison," he thought for a moment, "let some of the X-6 do it. Most of the units want to do something daring like the X-5 do on the out mission, this should show some of them a good time."

Mole nodded, "And the movie?"

"Get it started on time. I'll be there to announce it and do all the cheer. Tell them Max is working on a mission."

Mole looked expectantly at him, "Max is going on a lot of missions lately."

"Do it," Alec said with no room to argue.

"Its done," Mole said with respect in his voice, "What else, negotiations get anywhere?"

Alec thought, "Look up Nathan Ross, I need all of the info about him. Continue research on all stuff, I am sick of deciding to steal or starve. I want other options."

"I'm on it," Mole said taking the cigar out of his mouth, looking approvingly at Alec. Then he looked down at Max. Alec refused to look at her.

"Tell me again she's okay," Alec commanded quietly.

Mole looked at Max, "She's just sleeping. We think something is triggering these runes. Have you noticed anything physical?"

Alec resisted the urge to roll his eyes, "You mean besides her strange behavior? Her wanting me to run the pack, her leaving Logan, her maybe or maybe not asking me out on a date?"

Mole gave him a look, "I think that we can definitely say that she is temporarily insane, but lets start with physical things."

Alec gave him a scornful look, "I wouldn't know anything about that, but from what I've seen she's been perfectly normal."

Alec looked at the clock on the wall and thought, "Wait, she's been sleeping. She has been sleeping at night."

Mole nodded, "I'll talk to the doctor, I'll talk to Logan, we're researching this. We'll figure it out."

Mole moved to leave the room he stopped at the door, but he didn't look back.

"I was wondering if you had it in you," Mole said gruffly he looked back at Alec, "I was wondering if it was just because of her. You do your job and take care of us, I'll make sure that we find out what is wrong with Max and what the runes mean."

Mole took the cigar out of his mouth and gestured towards Max, "Why don't you take a couple of minutes, sir."

Alec heard it. For the first time the sir was tinged with respect.

&

Alec took a breath and looked outside at the remarkably sunny day.

"I did it Max, I did really well at beginning negotiations," he said, still too afraid to look at her, "We got yet another break. Four years ago I had a mission in the Middle East. I was in the desert for awhile, that is where I met Biggs. I learned more there than I ever did at Manticore. I learned about black market dealings and how to skirt the rules. The man who taught me everything that I knew is the man we're dealing with. I don't trust him further than I can throw him, but if I had to choose one person to be on our side it would be him."

Alec looked outside and sighed.

"You smell like scotch."

It was a murmur, but when he turned her large brown eyes were fixated on him.

He smiled gratefully, he didn't care if she was chiding him or angry as hell, as long as she was okay.

"He brought me a bottle," Alec said carefully, "He owed me."

"So you've been getting him drunk?" Max demanded.

"I'm doing negotiations on my own terms, we played poker for bulk items," Alec said, taking a step hesitantly towards her.

"You're going to get us killed," she told him.

"I'm tired of death," Alec said taking another step towards her, his own words held so many meanings. He was tired of killing, he was tired of being scared of being killed, he was so tired of doing someone else's bidding instead of choosing life.

"I have had so little chance to live," Alec said. He watched her, groggy from medicine that her body was burning through at a rapid pace. He watched her try not to move. He watched her try to still be a leader when she wasn't able to do anything but lay thee and talk. He smiled at her determination and he felt something, this woman was amazing.

It was completely the wrong time, but he had to know. There were a million issues to deal with, but he had to know one thing before he could wrap his mind around them.

He put his hands out to the side and asked the one thing that had haunted him all day, "Is it a date?"

She smiled and closed her eyes, "Why is it whenever I get close to dating someone I get viruses or runes?"

She opened one eye and looked at the man before her. She hoped that he understood because she really couldn't say the words right now. He was staring at her with that smirk. She had to close her eyes again, she couldn't take the way he was looking at her.

Alec closed the space and touched her forehead with his lips. He pulled back and gently stroked her hair. She opened her eyes and looked at his concerned hazel eyes. They stared through her.

"No," he said softly brushing her hair away from her face.

"No what?" she said softly, very afraid that he was turning her down. She felt the hysterical tears, most likely enhanced by the medication scorching through her veins. She steadied herself and waiting for the inevitable, dating and war were never good combinations. They had learned that in their classes at Manticore. Emotion got in the way of good decisions. She waited for Alec to tell her, and her heart already was tearing.

"No backing out of this now Guerva," Alec said. She opened her eyes and surprise and saw the earnestness in his face, "We're signed up for this little adventure. This thing that they call life there is always going to be a million reasons to back out, we just have to believe in that one thing to make us stay."

She nodded and reached out to touch his face. For a moment she just felt the heat under her finger tips. One reason was all she needed, and that one reason was being transmitted to her brain via the millions of sensors in her fingers.

She ran a finger over his lips, "You're still tangible."

The moment that she had chosen Logan he became untouchable. She had woken to see Alec there, Alec who had become her stability. She had thought that something in her had created something that would make him untouchable. But he was there. She could touch him. That was reason enough.

That was their one. Everything else was already in place or could come.

But she already had one thing to make her stay.

He was there.

"Then, I'm still taking you on a date," he said softly.

"Alec, maybe it should wait, we have time. We don't have to do everything right now," she said hoarsely, "I can't even sit up."

Alec moved her gently and slid in underneath her. She hissed in pain but pulled him near. Her head rested on his shoulder, her fingers played with the hair at the nape of his neck.

"You've been growing it out," she said groggily.

"A lady told me that I should," he said resting his hands along her unblemished sides. This was comfortable, this was what they were used to. Contact would keep them grounded even when there were other people who depended on them, and by the markings on her back it looked as if there was a world that somehow depended on them.

"Funny," Max said, "It seems that you listen to the lady only when you want to, not when she does something like asks you to behave yourself when you are trying to secure our future."

She felt his mouth curve into a smile, "Who said it was you. There happens to be this blonde who said that I look damn sexy with long hair."

Max smacked him and hissed in pain, but she fought through it and pulled herself up to look at him.

He caught his breath in his throat. She shone in the sunlight. Her smile was shining and the sun flickered over her highlights. She had that smile that she used when she thought she was being cute. That smile that she only used when she was really happy, a smile that she had never really given him.

"There will never be enough time Maxie," he said quietly.

She looked at him and her eyes began to glisten but her smile didn't want at all. She closed her eyes and he was mesmerized as she leaned closer. He watched her hair fall down like a curtain around them. He felt her lips nudge his lips. He then felt her tongue snake out to trace his lower lip. He groaned as his lips opened to hers.

"Then we start now," she said resting her forehead on his.

"We started months ago," he whispered holding her as close as he could.

She curled in next to him, "Tell me a story."

So he began talking, he told her everything that had happened at the meeting, he told her everything he knew about her condition.

He gave her everything because she asked for nothing, except for that he be there.

&


	6. Part Vb

a/n: Writer's block nearly killed the story. I'm getting back on target. Here's a long chapter. Please don't hate me. This will get done.

Her eyes were closed and her breathing was normal. The doctor had given her more antibiotics and more medicine to quell the pain. Alec moved so slightly to move away from her. He didn't want to leave but there was so much to be done. For four months they had sat around and done nothing but play chess and think of creative physical challenges.

That time was done.

Mara and Hal were waiting for him on the other side of the door.

The stood at attention and watched him warily for signs of impending destruction. Instead he smiled a strange smile that they were completely unfamiliar with. It was a smile that made him look a bit asinine, but in the stead of complete destruction it was a welcome change.

"Hal congratulations you've been promoted," Alec said happily ignoring their thinly startled expressions, "Your keen sense of observation and dynamic personality have landed you the position of doorman. I want you to know what and who comes in and out of the front door. Nothing gets in without Mole knowing about it. Nobody goes out unless I say so. You also get to make sure that all the care packages that we receive from Uncle Sam will in no way endanger anyone in here. You are now the gatekeeper, go find Mole don't let anyone die."

Hal remained stoic, "Thank you sir."

"See what you get for being the favorite," Mara remarked dryly.

Alec smiled at Mara, "Now Mara don't let me think that you're getting sweet on Hal. I'll be jealous. You my dear girl are going to take over for Mole and Dix on sentry duty and all the defenses, and if you are really nice I'll let you figure out how to up the training."

"I'm not that nice," Mara said under her breath.

"Ahh you sell yourself short," Alec told her, "Go. Hal to Mole. Mara to Dix. They have other things to do besides the mundane jobs."

Mara looked at him skeptically, "What could be more important than…"

She trailed off and they both looked at him.

Alec smiled.

Hal whistled, "He's got a date."

"Damn," Mara muttered, "I had next Tuesday, you sure that you can't wait?"

Alec rolled his eyes and he suddenly understood the phrase 'bip,bip.' It would work so well right now. Instead he stood straighter and wiped the grin off his face.

"That is an order."

The two soldiers straightened and turned to walk away. Alec smiled to himself. He liked his job. Mara looked back and Alec immediately stood serious again.

"What should we tell them you are doing," Mara asked, adding, "Sir" as a last thought.

Alec's grin faded for real this time.

Hal studied him and spoke softly, "He's going to ask for help from someone he doesn't want to."

&&

When she woke up he was gone. She smiled and attempted to move as little as possible. Her back was agonizing when she moved. Her head was clear though. Transgenic metabolism had pushed the painkillers through her system at a remarkable speed. However it also meant the return of the pain.

She groaned and opened her eyes and looked around taking in the floor and the lower half of the Doc. She slowly looked up at him, every movement of her muscles agonizing.

He looked at her back with apt fascination.

"Do you know that you might be the first transgenic with an infection," the Doc said.

"I'm so thrilled at this new development," Max said dryly.

"We've pumped you with enough antibiotics to kill off most anything," the Doc said looking at her back, "But your fever is getting higher and your little body art is getting more and more and more red and crusty."

Max attempted to twist to see her back and moaned in agony.

"Don't move," the Doc said chastising her, as if any child should know better.

"I'm so sorry," Max said angrily, "This is my first infection."

"Be still," the Doc said with exasperation.

"I was thinking of doing some calisthenics," Max muttered, "Thanks for the advice."

He moved and grabbed a mirror. He held it so that she could see her back. She moved slowly and looked at the wreckage her back had become. The runes were scripted over her back still, but her entire back was an angry red still, but a brutal purple-mauve-black had been added. Also there was ugly scabbing forming with ooze seeping out at the cracks.

She looked astounded at the mess that was her back and she felt dizzy.

"You're not very transgenic with the fainting and the infection," the Doc said taking the mirror away.

"I'm so sorry," Max said closing her eyes and clenching her teeth.

The Doc shrugged, "There is something wrong with you."

"Thanks," Max said through gritted teeth, "I couldn't have figured out that."

"No, you have a virus," the Doc said.

"Yes I know," Max said, "There was Renfro and her lovely addition to my chemical make up and then there was the original cocktail that Sandeman plied together in order to create me. I'm a cornucopia of viruses. Good luck with the Manticore hijinks."

The Doc thought for a moment, "I think that this is one that you've always had, but for some reason you're no longer immune."

Max look up at him and glared, "Why are you sharing theories here. Go. Help Dix and Luke."

The Doc looked at her back, "I will follow your orders oh great commander, but first I have to try to relieve the infection. The antibiotics are probably keeping your blood from getting all infected, but unfortunately we need to try to do something more topical. So I will share with the boys in command once my medical duties are complete."

"I'm so glad that you are holding up your Hippocratic oath," Max said staring at the rubbing alcohol he was holding up with wide eyes.

The Doc rolled his eyes, "I used to cut you kids up for fun, or because they would have killed me if I didn't. I don't have any oath, but as completely testosterone fueled and drama queen-ish as your boy toy can be he would kill me if anything happened to you. I've survived for years by putting first the people who would do me harm, survival instinct and all. That means that I'm going to fix you and then figure you out."

He shook the clear bottle with the clear liquid and Max got the sinking sensation that this wasn't going to be fun.

Max eyes got wide, she couldn't imagine what it was going to feel like, "Will it hurt?"

He voice was soft and she watched as he took a syringe and filled it. As with all transgenics she hated needles. Being poked and prodded made that understandable. She knew there were more painkillers in that needle and being the brilliant mind that she was she knew that it was going to hurt.

A lot.

"No," she said hoarsely fighting nausea, "I need to be clear when this is done."

He knelt down and looked at her with an uncharacteristically sympathetic looks, "I know how much you can take. I have worked along side the doctors who tested the threshold of pain of X-5 kids. I'm going to have to do this in the Wild West way with your dog boy holding you down and a leather strap between your teeth. You need something. The extremely irrational CO will probably have my head if he hears you screaming all the way in HQ."

She looked at him with strength that she didn't feel, "Just do it."

"No," the Doc said seriously, "You need to trust. You need to believe that the man who you put in place as Commander can do his job. You need to believe that your inner circle can hold down the fort. You need to trust me and what I know about you, because there is no one on the face of the planet at the present moment who knows X-5 better than I do. You need to believe that all of us are good enough."

Max's lips trembled, "Why? We need…"

The Doc put his finger up to her lips, "What is on your back, and what I think is in you is what could save us from what could make the lynch mob outside look like a cheerleading squad. There is something coming, something Sandeman wanted to protect them from, you know this too, I think. You put super soldier in charge because you knew that perhaps you would be needed to do something besides lead."

"How…"

The Doc shook his head, "They used X-4 as slave labor when they realized that we had taken on too much physical attributes of the animal DNA. I worked in the lab from the time you kids were embryos. I worked in the same room as Sandeman. They never thought that we could hear and or figure things out, which means that they felt comfort able saying anything around us. Later Renfro talked a lot too, looking for her savior. There is something that has been going on. You might have brought us all to TC, but you could also be our ticket out of here. We need to be able to read what is on your back. We need to figure this out."

He pointedly said 'we.' She closed her eyes and thought about the faces outside of the room. She thought about all the people who she had come to know and love. The weight of the world was on her shoulders, but she was no longer alone.

She looked up at the Doc and hold out her arm.

&

"I'm looking over them and figuring them out, but I don't like what they're starting to say," Logan said slowly.

Alec looked at the other man on the screen and was screaming that he didn't like this, but he just gave his patented smile, "What is taking so long in figuring out what they say, you did this quickly last time."

Logan took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Sure Alec I'll work on the whole runes thing, between standing in front of congress and arguing the case of your people. I have plenty of time."

Alec's façade fell, "The sarcasm doesn't look well on you."

Logan leaned forward on the videophone, "I'm just saying that there is a lot going on. I have a lot on the table."

Alec stood up and kicked the chair behind him, "Then just send us the goddamned files we'll do it ourselves."

Logan gave him a condescending look, "Sure would you like me to drop the very important highly confidential files into the mail? You delivered things Alec, how many packages did you personally 'inspect'? How many packages never got delivered? Is that a risk you want to take?"

Alec ground his teeth and sat patiently. He was a super soldier, made and trained to endure anything, but there was something about the man that drove him crazy. He knew that if the fates, and runes, and every single cataclysmic thing in the world calmed down then there was a good chance that Alec would be dating Logan's ex. He liked to believe that that wasn't what was bothering him.

They were just so different. Logan was a thinker, Alec was a creature of action. Logan was a man who believed in causes, and he had jumped whole-heartily into this one. Alec was backed into a corner, a man who was trying to save his life, in some ways it just annoyed him that Logan was doing this because he wanted to. It was a sticky arranged marriage, but one for better or worse.

Alec quietly ground his teeth and hated the fact that he couldn't be patient at this moment. There were too many things pressing on him at the moment. Max was sick with some undefined illness, he was in charge of a potentially volatile situation, the people were on the verge of starvation, and his body was aching from his miraculous return a few nights ago as the ultimate cage fighter Monty Cora.

As much as those people on the other side of the barricade debated the matter of souls or humanity of transgenics, Alec was on the basic level only a man and he was a damned tired man.

"What can you do?" Alec asked through clenched teeth.

Logan sighed and looked into the distance, "Look Alec, I have six meetings at one time. I'm sitting here listening to all these different groups. I have notes, but they're completely unorganized. Even with Dix helping, it won't be enough. I can barely keep up here in DC, even with Asha's help. The discovery of you guys is creating widespread chaos and I am trying to control it all. My name is only doing so much."

Alec smirked, "Is the great Logan in over his head?"

Logan glared, "No, I'm saying that if you want my help, I'm gonna need yours."

"What do you need?" Alec asked looking over the just completed census of the population.

"What could you give?" Logan replied.

"We have crackers and diapers aplenty," Alec said absently as he scanned the document, the census was complete as could have been done by highly organized and efficient super soldiers polling five hundred plus people in the course of three days, "I can give you a poly-sci major from Stanford and an ex-Marine who has had a year of law school at Duke."

Logan leaned back and blinked in surprised, "Where would you have gotten those?"

"They're ours. They had long-term undercover missions. Their identities are solid, we can give them stuff to pass the heat sensors and laser their bar codes and all that. We can get IDs, call them interns and give them do-gooder cover stories.

Logan leaned back and nodded in approval, "Sound like a deal."

And the air cleared. The two men went over details and it was strangely coherent. Details seemed to fall into place quickly. The marriage that had been so rocky seemed to suddenly seem more blissful.

But that didn't stop the inevitable question from being raised. The pink elephant was omni present in the room.

"Is she okay?" Logan asked.

Alec had tried not to think of Max and the agony that was her back. He didn't want to talk about her with Logan. It was potentially volatile situation if Logan backed out because of his feelings.

Logan sensed this hesitation.

"I'm not doing this because of her," he was quick to add, "This whole thing never was totally about her. Eyes Only existed before her and Eyes Only and Logan Cale will keep fighting for this even without her. I just want to know if she is okay."

"She's in a lot of pain," Alec said slowly, "But she's coherent. I've been in this room with you for the last three hours, but last I saw of her, she wasn't getting worse and she was able to sleep."

Logan smiled a far away smile, "That's good."

Alec saw the smile and he had to be sure, he had to trust his allies as much as he could, "You know that if anything happens you will go down as surely as the rest of us."

Logan looked straight ahead into the camera, "I know."

"We're doing this to survive, we're doing this because it is our lives, our family, our freedom. Why are you doing this?"

Logan looked at him for a spell. Alec watched as the eyes told of generations of wealth and privilege. He was smart because his family ensured that he would have nothing to focus on but his betterment in the world. He was educated and driven. He had seen the world because even in the post –Pulse days money still opened every door.

He didn't have the genetic power of the transgenics, but he was every bit as talented.

Logan smiled, "Because I can."

&&

Alec walked out the conference room strangely content and expectedly rushed to get back to see Max. Unfortunately command was in the midst of chaos. There was something wrong with the movie set up and something wrong with the food situation and something wrong with the census count and pandemonium around sending two people to Washington.

Except there wasn't.

There were relatively simple answers to each problem, the projector needed a six inch block under it, the second food closet key was with one of the X-4 chefs and he needed to be found, and just because they couldn't find two pages of the census didn't mean they couldn't ask the missing people again or use someone's photographic memory to recall the information.

And preparing two soldiers for a mission was routine, all they had to do was gather the resources.

But figuring out everything needed Alec's immediate attention and took a lot of explanation and arguing. Everyone was running around HQ in a state of insanity.

Well everyone except Mole, Hal, and Mara who stood on the far side of HQ and watched the drama unfold. Mara would occasionally consult her watch, Mole would occasionally look at another of the X-6 pages, and they would scurry from Dix or Luke or another ranking official to where Alec stood. Hal stood there impassively watching everything as always.

Alec was so involved in fixing the muddle he didn't even notice the elaborate chess game going on around him.

Until he realized that the problems he was solving didn't really need to be solved.

"You guys aren't that stupid," Alec yelled finally after someone added another fluffy "problem." The people in the room froze and looked at Mole. Mara looked at her watch.

"Two hours, ten minutes," she looked at Mole, "Hal won."

Alec closed his eyes and attempted to calm down. He was angry, but the first thing he felt was panic. There was only one thing that they would keep him from.

"Never underestimate the ego and its desire to be needed," Hal acknowledged.

Alec looked to the door and then back at his men. Then he smiled an evil smile.

"Mole, Hal, Mara, lets step into my office."

Alec had to give them credit, they stood a little taller and took it seriously, they took him seriously. They knew well enough that their tactics to keep him away from Max during the worst of her surgery would get them reprimanded.

They hoped that he wouldn't be too mad.

The rest of HQ stopped and waited. Command was quiet as they pretended to keep doing what they were doing. Then they realized that they were doing nothing. So they looked at each other awkwardly.

&&

Alec was the first to walk out of the room. Hal, Mara, and Mole followed, albeit slowly and looking down at their shoes.

Alec looked at the room with a huge smile that wasn't reflected in his eyes.

"Guys," Alec announced to the room, "I have something really really special to announce to the room. Tonight Mara, Hal, and Mole will be serving you tonight. They have graciously agreed to lead the festivities tonight. They have assured me that things will be wonderful and highly entertaining."

HQ looked at the three people who they had yet to see smile, never mind be jovial through things like festivities. Hal, Mara, and Mole stood as the antithesis of gracious and entertaining. They looked to be scowling a great deal, although on Mole it was hard to tell.

Alec scanned the room. His eyes settled on a boy of ten or so who had been sending messages. The boy was on tiptoe looking at papers and didn't notice when Alec's eyes rested on him. He did eventually feel all the eyes in the room go to him.

He looked at Alec and his blue eyes went wide.

"Shit," he muttered as he stood up straight and faced his Commanding Officer.

"Congratulations are in order," Alec said looking at the boy watching him for any sign of something that he was looking for, "How did you know?"

The boy kept his eyes forward as a good soldier did, "Luck sir?"

The answer was steady, but it was still in a question form. Alec walked towards the boy and knelt before him. He put his fingers under the boy's chin and made the boy look at Alex. The boy looked down for a minute and then met Alec's eyes.

Alec looked at him, "You're not a very good liar."

The boy looked at him, alarmed. There was no way for him to hide his terror.

Behind Alex Hal raised his eyebrows. He looked at Mara, the two of them shared some silent communication. Mara nodded in understanding and showed a slight bit of shock that Alec had figured out what was going on before Hal. Hal slightly rolled his eyes which was an extreme chastising. Mole didn't look at either of them, but he almost imperceptively reached for a shotgun.

And they waited for Alec to show any sign of which way this would go.

The boy straightened. He took a deep breath and looked at Alec straight in the eye.

"Yes sir, I'm terrible," the boy said in a watery voice, but for his credit he stood his ground.

Alec tried not to smile, but Hal caught his reaction. He motioned to Mole and Mara and behind Alec they silently addressed the room. Mole held the gun to his shoulder and glared down the room. Hal and Mara moved behind Alec. The room got the message, but most of them didn't know what was happening. All that they knew was that this boy was not to be touched.

"That isn't a bad thing," Alec told him gently reaching out a hand.

The boy flinched but Alec just tousled his hair.

"What is your name?" Alec asked gently.

"I'm X-835," he said warily.

"You need a name, not just a number," Alec told him.

The boy shrugged.

Alec looked at him and suddenly realized why Max gave such simple names. It wasn't easy to come up with names on the spot.

"I'm going to call you Colin," Alec said evenly, "You remind me of this guy in who did intel in Kajastan. He was a good guy until that whole stewardess debacle."

The kid nodded and looked at Alec skeptically. He had calculated that he wasn't in danger, but he had no idea what was going on. Alec saw him trying to figure it out and smiled widely.

"Kid you've got a lot to learn. Come on, I've got a new assignment for you," Alec stood and motioned for the boy to follow. HQ stood still.

Alec looked at them, "As you were. We will convene at 0800 for the movie. Nobody is mandated to be there, but everybody should be there if they want to be, but if you're there you better have everything buttoned up for the day."

Alec left followed by the newly christened 'Colin'. The rest of the room went back slowly to their duties.

Mole nodded to Hal and Mara to go to Alec's office.

"What the hell is going on?" Mole asked quietly enough not to hear through the walls.

Hal raised an eyebrow, "You haven't figured it out yet?"

Mole raised cocked his head and then cocked his gun, "Don't be all smart."

"He was a Psy-Ops mole," Hal said evenly, "He would go through different teams and assess their mental states. After the '09 escape they put these kids in who could figure out the probabilities of situations happening into different teams. He would point fingers. That is what he was trained for. Needless to say moles aren't too popular."

Mara nodded, "That kid needs protection."

Mole shook his head, "Alec figured all that out by us telling him that that kid had won the lottery."

The three people in the room nodded in admiration of the Commanding officer.

Then Mole looked even angrier, "That kid just won my flame thrower."

Mara nodded, "Your hypothetical flame thrower?"

"Shut up," Mole muttered.

&&&

Max opened her eyes. She was instantly and totally awake and that sucked.

She looked up and felt her mouth. She tried to feel her tongue but her mouth was so dry that nothing seemed to have any nerve endings. She smacked her tongue against the roof of her mouth and nothing happened.

She saw the doctor's feet and a cup appeared in front of her mouth.

"You did good girl," the Doc said with strange sincerity, "You made it though like nobody I have ever seen. I've seen kids shit themselves at the thought of a cut. You endured an hour of excruciating pain. You even managed to make Joshua think you were fine for the first half of it. You are exceptional."

Max attempted not to let her eyes roll back into her head. She closed them and slowly sipped the water.

"Hydrate slowly," the Doc said. "You've never had a hangover so you don't know the agony of this, but you've had a whole lot of drugs pumped in your system," the Doc took away the glass, "You may be the first transgenic to have an infection and I'm sorry for the difficulties that my lack of knowledge on that front may lead to, but I know plenty about X-5 dehydration. You'll be fine."

She opened her eyes and looked up at him.

He smiled, "Yeah I know that you are telling me you are grateful in that way that means you are anything but and I'm glad that you are managing to put that into unsaid words, but I have you on a vitamin drip and you should be fine. You have two hours I'm told, so get your transgenic genes fixed."

Max looked up at him again.

"I have no idea what is going on. Do you think that they tell me shit?," the doctor said before going on with things.

&&

She was awake when Alec came in with the kid. He saw her he hid it well, but he was worried.

"What happened?" he asked, looking at the scorched thing that was her back.

Max looked skeptically at the kid who was looking at the room in a very systematic manner and trying to make is seem perfectly normal. He kept steeling glances at her naked back. It should have made her feel perverted, but his glances seemed to be more an examination than a peep show.

Alec was looking at her face, not the markings on her back. When his eyes went to what Colin was looking at his green eyes went wide.

"Maxie," he asked taking in the smooth form of her creamy skin, "What did the Doc do?"

Max shrugged and tried to look over her shoulder. When they had entered something strange happened. She hadn't realized it exactly, but suddenly she had begun to feel better.

"He opened the wounds on my back and poured something disinfecting on the bloody thing that was my back," she looked puzzled at her back.

Her back was still criss-crossed with scabs from where the legions had been, but the nasty black runes were missing.

Alec raised an eyebrow, "That is odd."

The Doc came in and looked at her back, "Where'd the runes go."

"Kinda what we were thinking," Alec said.

Max sat up pulling a blanket up around her chest, "This isn't funny. Not only do we get the funny DNA I get to be a random message board that is making no sense. I hate this. Where is there a manual when you need it?"

"I don't know," the Doc said with a puzzled look on his face.

"Find out," Max said through clenched teeth, "Cause I'm sick and tired of being someone's idea of a prophet.

The lines of worry were still heavy over Alec's face, but he gave her a brave smile, "Maxie, we're working on it."

She turned towards him and glared. He stared at her. She was seething. They held eye contact and she breathed deeply.

Max turned to the doctor.

"Thank you for your help," she said tightly, "Please continue on your theories and let me know what the fuck is happening to my back."

Alec looked at the boy who seemed to be thinking, "Doc, I give you Colin to be your assistant. He will be the runner between you and Dix."

Max looked at the boy, "Who is Colin?"

Colin glared at her.

"Colin is the lucky winner of our date lottery," Alec said with a shrug, "I didn't know quite what to do with a Psy-Ops Intel Brat, but this will do."

Colin glared at Alec, and Alec raised his hands in defense, "Hey that is what you are. Deal with it, accept it, and that will go a long way to helping us accept it. I'm sure you already have a few theories."

Colin looked over at Max and his brow furrowed. The boy nodded and looked hesitantly at the doctor. Alec ruffled his hair.

"You two are going to be so good friends," Alec intoned as he turned towards Max and gave her his most dazzling and charming smile, "Now can someone give Maxie a shirt so that way she can go shower and put on something extremely slutty and we can go and make Colin a winner."

Max glared at him and threw a cup at his head.

Alec ducked and looked offended, "Hey Maxie it isn't my fault that you asked me out to the movies to get me drunk and take advantage of me."

"I'm thinking of changing my mind," Max said glaring at him.

Alec stepped forward and tilted her chin to look in his eyes. He bit his bottom lip and tilted his head.

"C'mon Maxie," he said softly.

She tried to stay mad, but at that moment her super soldier DNA, her position as transgenic leader, and her hard-won hardass reputation betrayed her. The girl in her suddenly had a case of the butterflies and she thought that she might blush.

A clearing of the throat interrupted their moment. The Doc threw Max a shirt, "Put it on, get out, and come back tomorrow morning."

Alec smiled at her.

She glared. He was still the same arrogant, asinine, cocksure guy who had entered her cell all that time ago, but she had seen his serious side. She hated that the old Alec made this whole crazy insane situation that they were in suddenly not so bad. Actually she didn't hate it at all. She motioned for the men to turn and she put on her shirt.

She got up and stalked out.

"I want popcorn," she said popping back in the room.

Alec smirked, "Baby you wear leather and you can have anything that you want."

Max shot him a glare that would and had reduced a lesser man. Alec just put his hands in his pockets and gave him a wide eye little boy look.

She left.

Alec couldn't wipe off the grin on his face. He turned to the Doc.

"Find out," he said simply.

"You get to date, and I have to figure out your life."

Alec clapped him on the shoulder, "Its good to be the boss. We call it delegation."

The Doc rolled his eyes, "Go."

Alec smiled and then turned serious, "I…"

The Doc held up his hand, "Don't make this a moment. I like her. More than that I like mysteries. I couldn't not do this if I tried. Go make a whole lotta male folk jealous."

Alec put his arms out by his side, "I always do."


	7. Part Vc

a/n: the fifth part is finally over. I got obessessed with the next chapter and this one took FOREVER. I just want to say that this will get done. Hang with me.

They sat side by side on the roof's edge watching the discovery of new dinosaurs projected against the side of a building. The quality of the movie was as low as it came, but for a couple hundred highly trained super soldiers under the age of fifteen it was fun. They were laughing and commenting upon their prowess against large lizards. Some of them were laughing, some of them were throwing popcorn, and a few of them were even making out.

Max wasn't watching the movie. She was watching the world that her sheer force of will had brought together. She was smiling.

Alec sat on the edge of the building tapping his military issue boots against the bricks.

Max sat with a bowl of popcorn in her lap. She ate one kernel at a time. She was wearing a flowery dress that he had no idea the origin of, it had just materialized like this entire world seemed to have sprung up around her. She wasn't the hardened girl who he had met back in Manticore. Her hair was curling and she looked softer somehow.

Alec sat next to her with his hands grasping the edge of the building.

It was the most uncomfortable first date ever. He had nothing to say to her. To be honest they had spent so much time waiting for something to start she had absolutely no clue what was supposed to happen now.

She had asked about work half an hour ago and he had shushed her, saying that they weren't going to spend the night talking about work. So he racked his brain for something normal to discuss with her. It had been so easy when it had been in the dark. It had been so easy when they were speculating.

Now he had her undivided attention.

And his brain had lost functioning power. It didn't help that his hands were sweating and his stomach felt all twisted. She had offered him popcorn and he had refused on the grounds that he didn't think that food would be welcome.

"The French Rivera," he said suddenly.

She looked at him popcorn halfway to her mouth.

"Have you ever been?" he asked.

She put the popcorn back in the bowl and shook her head, "I haven't been many places. I had to lay low my entire life. I haven't ever left the West coast."

He looked at the beautiful creature next to him. He couldn't imagine her ever laying low. He watched her and imagined what life had been like for a small girl all alone. She had lived hungry and without shelter. She had never really seen a world beyond the grimy walls around her.

Alec leaned back and wondered. He thought of what he had seen. The drills and the life at Manticore had been unmanageable, but he had moments of luxury and beauty that she was so unaware of. The smile on her face at something as simple as a movie was awe-inspiring. He wanted to show her more.

"Its beautiful," he said looking ahead and not at her, "There are these beautiful beaches and the water is so nice. It's clean there, and everything just seems so pure. There is a café overlooking the beach that serves the best espresso and chocolate croissant."

"How do you know this?" she asked looking at him.

He turned to her, "Maxie, life wasn't always barracks and drills. We had assignments all the time. When I did solo ops sometimes I got to go places. They kept us on tight leashes, the handlers were always concerned that we would do a runabout, but we got to do things."

She looked at him and tried to see who he was, what the elements of his life that had lead him here. He had shared so much of his young life in the gates of Manticore. He hadn't told her much of the moments when he had escaped.

He smiled his little half smile and his eyes got dreamy as he looked at her, "I can see you there, in a little white bikini, the skies are all blue, and you're tan. We should go."

Max's stomach dropped and she could feel her pulse racing. She looked down at the drab and mucky field playing a movie on the side of a building.

"And give up all this," she said lightly.

He reached out and touched her hand. A breeze played through the strands of her hair. His eyes watched her, he saw her.

Alec said, "One day I'm taking you there. Sun and fun."

Max just shook her head.

He took the bowl popcorn and put in on the far side of him. He cupped her face and drew his thumb across her lip, when he spoke it was low and raspy "We've got to dream Maxie. If we don't think about where we are going, our future then what good is any of this?"

She shook her head and smiled, "Is that what you see? A dog and a white picket fence?"

Alec gave her a snicker, "Please, I see yachts and you in a bikini."

Max smacked him playfully.

"Please Maxie," he said taking a deep breath, "Let me have my mental images. They're amazing."

And that was the moment she felt connected. The whole world had always been ten sizes too big. There were always things that she couldn't control and things that were out to get her. She had tried so hard to run away from anything that meant anything.

She had never thought that maybe she would do something so normal. It wasn't some future tied to a guy, it wasn't a future of enslavement, and she was simply given the freedom to move. She was given the idea that maybe she could be anywhere she wanted to be.

He gave her the one thing she never had.

Hope.

And she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was sure.

She bent her head but looked up at him though her lashes, "The real thing is better."

He opened his mouth, but couldn't find anything to say. It seemed as if all the coherent blood had exited his head and was rushing somewhere lower.

She smiled in her victory and kissed him.

He pulled her close and couldn't stop. He couldn't stop the feeling of her lips on his. Her hands bunched up the fabric of his shirt and were pulling him closer. He nearly fell off the roof when she let out a tiny little moan.

Instead he fell backwards and landed on his back.

Alec gasped as suddenly he had been warm and so fuzzy and then he landed on his back against the cold and very hard roof.

Max was giggling and looking down at him and for a moment he marveled at the fact that he was making her smile. He was making her completely happy. Nothing made sense and she was under so much pressure, but he had made her smile and that meant everything to him.

"Look its Cassiopeia," he said pointing at the stars, as if he had in fact meant to land on the ground in this completely undignified position.

Which made her laugh all the more.

"Geeze woman," he said putting his hands behind his head, "You sure know how to bruise a guy's ego."

She rolled her eyes and joined him on the roof, "Your ego is bullet proof. Plus its good we stopped, there are children down there, they don't need to see us making out."

"They should be so lucky," Alec told her, "They could learn a few things."

He watched as she suddenly got serious and braced himself for the swift let down.

"Take me home Alec," she said quietly.

He blinked not understanding.

"Take me home, I want to learn a few things," she said softly.

He understood her meaning and his grin nearly split his face, "Maxie, you hoyden. It's the first date You're supposed to wait until the third date and then play all coy…"

She put a finger on his constantly yammering mouth, "If something bad happens…"

"Nothing bad will happen," he said vehemently, "We're going to kick Uncle Sam's butt so we get freedom, kick the Cult's butt, and then go on vacation. Nothing else will happen."

She didn't argue, she just smiled.

"I have always waited for the perfect moment," she said simply, "And I think that it is right now."

He looked at her. A hover drone flew overhead. He could hear rioters in the background and he was getting rocks in his back. Then he shrugged. She had weird ideas about perfect moments.

"I'm a gentleman Maxie," he said as he silenced her protests, "And I never argue with a lady."

She smiled and helped him up off the ground. She took him by the hand and he did a little jig behind her.

"Lets go get some learnin' on," he said grabbing her in a big hug.

&&

"Ouch," Colin said looking down at the vial in his arm.

The Doc rolled his eyes, "Yes they made you X series so much more superior. It's a tiny needle, deal."

Colin glared, but as customarily he said nothing.

Dix lounged back looking at the pictures of Max's back.

"I know, these kids are so spoiled," he stared intently at the runes.

"What did the ordinary say?" the Doc asked.

Dix put down the pictures and thought for a moment, "His finding seem to support your theory. I just don't know how we can test it out. We're kind of suck in here."

The noticed him sitting there listening like he had been listening for the last hour. They talked in code, but he could figure it out. They needed his blood and he sulked around. They had developed a theory using the least descriptive of terms.

They had figured out quite a bit. But they thought in terms of the upper levels. They didn't know about the common people below them.

Colin looked at them and rolled his eyes.

They both looked at him.

"There are lots of kids here that she has never come in contact with," Colin said.

The Doc tried not to smile and neither Dix nor Doc looked at each other.

"But you knew that," Colin said looking at them, realizing they were testing him, "You know that there is something about her, something she is carrying. You think that the runes are connected to her passing it on. The runes announce if she isn't passing it on. That is why you are testing my blood. To see if she passed it on to me."

"Look at the tyke, figuring things out," Doc drawled.

Colin looked at them, "That is what I do."

Doc and Dix exchanged a glance, "Well kiddo we'll see how you do. We're going to need you to find the ones that are new, and bring them here. Then we need you to keep them around her for a few days. We're testing a theory."

The boy thought for a moment, "You want to see if the runes stay away. Why a few days? She felt better the moment I stepped into the room."

The Doc smiled, "She felt better because I pumped her full of ordinary blood, you're just a charming addition to the plan. The ordinary blood gave her body something to fight instead of itself. But she got totally better because she passed it on to you."

Colin looked startled.

"Don't worry it isn't bad, we think she's passing antibodies on," the Doc said, "We think everybody who comes into contact with her is getting a vaccine of sorts."

Colin realized what they were saying "So you want me to keep her from getting hurt again until you figure it out, without her knowing."

"And we're going to keep this nice and quiet," a deep voice behind them said.

Mole stood there with his gun on his shoulder, "Four of us are going to get samples and work on this little medical problem and do whatever scheme that Doc and Dix have thought up. We're going to keep this as tight as possible because this is exactly the kind of volatile situation that could ruin any chance of 'normalcy'."

Colin looked around at Mole who was a big lizard, Dix who was kind of freaky looking, and Doc who was just not normal. Wisely boy said nothing.

"So the Doc has a whole bunch of scientific process things and he'll tell you what he's looking for. You're going to come with me tomorrow and we're gonna do a lot of walking, you're gonna do a lot of lookin' and at night you are going to return and tell Doc what he needs to know. You're gonna help us and we're going to keep you from getting your ass handed to you for all the snitching you did back at Manticore."

Colin looked properly relieved and properly frightened. Then he blinked and his face went blank.

Mole watched him, "We need to know we can trust you."

Colin looked at him.

"We need to know that nothing you learn or do will go outside of these walls."

Colin looked at the gun and nodded.

"That includes Alec," the Doc said lightly, but with an undertone of menace.

Colin looked at all of them, their strange faces and the power that their animalistic visages spoke of.

"And since you will be looking for why we will tell you," Dix said slowly, "We want you to not be looking out there. We think that if we trust you, you will trust us not to constantly be checking up on us."

Mole nodded, "And you are not going to tell Alec. We're not telling Alec because if this turns bad, if she is a danger to anyone he will think of her first. Even if it brings down each and every one of us. He will think of her first, and he will think only of her. So we have to make sure that that it isn't his choice. Just in case."

&


End file.
